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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22568377">the belonging you seek</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/merrymegtargaryen/pseuds/hipgrab'>hipgrab (merrymegtargaryen)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Do not repost, Gen, Spitefic, Time Travel Fix-It, because i'm a better writer than any of the men involved in star wars, everything i've ever hated about the star wars saga, except rian johnson we love you rian, is fixed in this 11 chapter fanfic, the author said fuck tros</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:28:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>21,905</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22568377</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/merrymegtargaryen/pseuds/hipgrab</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When given the chance to turn back time and change the course of history, Rey takes it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Rey &amp; Anakin Skywalker, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>403</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1062</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Look I gotta be real with you guys, I h a t e d TROS. I felt so betrayed coming out of that movie. I was sick with the flu yet I opened up my laptop and started writing this fic just to let out my feelings. And I didn't let it stop at TROS; I went back and changed EVERYTHING I ever hated about the Star Wars movies, because if you're going to write spite fic, you might as well commit.</p><p>This fic will take place primarily during the prequels, which were better than people pretend they were tbqh, and even though the fic isn't OVERTLY reylo, Rey does spend a substantial portion of it mourning Ben and trying to make a better life for him. </p><p>YES the time travel thing is silly but if JJ can co-opt holocrons into "" Wayfinders "" I can do whatever I want. </p><p>Thank you thank you thank you to alittlerunaway for betaing and reassuring me this is NOT garbage and judypoovey for giving me the encouragement I needed to write this fic. I love you both &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Tatooine’s binary suns are beginning their slow descent over the horizon when Finn asks the question she’s been dreading.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rey,” he asks, lingering in the doorway of the Lars homestead. “Are you happy here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She pastes a smile on her face. “Of course I am.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t have to lie to me,” he insists.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Of course I have to lie to you. You don’t understand, you never could. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m...as happy as I can be,” she amends. “I feel...connected to Luke and Leia here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And Ben?” he asks bitterly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And Ben,” she agrees softly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Finn sighs. “I wish you’d come to Coruscant with the rest of us. You could be with your friends again, around people, not...alone in another desert.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyes sting a little. “It’s complicated, Finn.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shakes his head. “Not to me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” she agrees. “Not to you.” She touches his shoulder. “Better get a move on.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His shoulders slump at the dismissal. He hugs her one last time and then climbs into his ship, waving before he takes off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Poor Finn. She had hoped that time and distance would help him fall out of love with her, but it doesn’t seem to be doing anything. He’s stubborn, her friend. Rose had given up on him, and she’s pretty sure Poe and Jannah will do the same after a while. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>But when will he give up on me?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She watches the twin sunset, breathing deeply. She can always feel Luke and Leia most strongly during the sunsets. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Twin suns, twin Skywalkers,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thinks with a small smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When the suns have set and stars dot the black sky, she goes back inside and into the room where she keeps artifacts from her expeditions. The cool blue glow of the room reveals her latest artifact, one she’d spent months trying to find. A Wayfinder, but instead of taking her to a place, it takes her to a time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s dangerous, and the wizened old shepherd who gave it to her had looked afraid...but really, what does Rey have to lose? If this works, she won’t live to tell the tale, and if it doesn’t work, well, what difference does it make? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Either way, Rey is not going to exist anymore.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She takes the Wayfinder outside, just in case, and sets it on the sand before her. She presses her fingertips into the glass, closing her eyes and concentrating hard. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wind rushes around her, but she doesn’t dare open her eyes. She can hear voices, can feel people moving past her, and then suddenly the wind stops and all fades to silence. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When she opens her eyes, she finds that she’s not alone. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter brought to you by The Mandalorian</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>One of the Tusken raiders reaches down to grab Rey, but she signs quickly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Wait!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They pause, clearly unused to humans communicating with them. It was much the same in her time, but it saddens her all the same. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>Who are you?</em>
  </b>
  <span> the leader asks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She signs her name. The leader asks if she lives here and she signs </span>
  <em>
    <span>no.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>She is not the woman,</em>
  </b>
  <span> the leader tells the others.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>What woman?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Tuskens hesitate.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>The woman who lives here is supposed to be taken?</span>
  </em>
  <span> she presses. This must be about Shmi. Tusken Raiders don’t just </span>
  <em>
    <span>take</span>
  </em>
  <span> people, especially women on their own property. Oh, the stories say they do, certainly, but there are all kinds of stories about the Raiders. No one wants to acknowledge that the natives on this planet are anything less than monsters. That’s why it’s been okay to take their land and treat them as animals, all while shrinking their borders and stripping more and more rights from them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reluctantly, the leader signs, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So they planned it. Or someone did, anyway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Why are you taking her? What did she do to you?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The leader signs quickly and frustratedly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>Not to us. Man paid us to take her. </em>
  </b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Man. Palpatine, or one of his minions? The latter, most likely; he would never debase himself with a task like this. Either way, this is clearly his doing. Of course. Hire the Tusken Raiders to kidnap Shmi and kill her, thus driving Anakin to the dark side. If Rey can stop this...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Feverish with excitement, she tells him, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t take her. I know the man you speak of. He is a liar. If you take this woman, you will all die, even the children.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Tuskens erupt in their own tongue, one Rey barely understands. The leader silences them all to ask her, </span>
  <b>
    <em>Why should we believe you?</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Look at me,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she tells him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>How many people here talk to you? How many people here treat you as people and not animals?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Tuskens hesitate...and then nod. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>We will leave the woman alone, Rey the Human, because you speak kindly and true. </em>
  </b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Thank you,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she signs back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They take their leave, climbing on their speeders and flying out into the desert. Rey watches them go, tingling with victory.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>They’re not going to take Shmi. They’re going to leave her, and she won’t suffer, and Anakin won’t find her dead body, won’t turn to the dark side because of it.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When the Tuskens are gone, she wraps the Wayfinder in its cloth and sets it in the sand, using the Force to push it deep into the ground. Now, the only way she’ll be able to find it again is if she uses the Force to pull it back out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She makes to go inside, and then remembers that the homestead isn’t hers anymore. It belongs to the Lars family again, and she can’t very well walk into someone else’s home. She’ll have to wait out here until someone comes outside.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shrugging, she leans against the house, trying to ignore the cold now that nighttime has set in. Wrapping her arms around herself, she closes her eyes and tries to imagine a fire keeping her warm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You’re not alone.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Neither are you.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A sharp gasp wakes her up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She sits up, instinctively reaching for the saber on her belt, but the wide brown eyes looking down at her pierce her to her core.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Ben’s eyes.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her hand relaxes as she stares up at the woman, taking in her coarse, sand-colored clothes, her black hair, her brown eyes and sun-weathered skin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Is this her? Is this Shmi Skywalker?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who are you?” the woman asks suspiciously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey licks her lips. “I’m Rey.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rey. What are you doing outside my house, Rey?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I…” What was her story again? “I ran away. I stopped here to rest.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ran away?” the woman repeats. “From where?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My master. Unkar Plutt.” It isn’t a </span>
  <em>
    <span>total</span>
  </em>
  <span> lie.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The woman’s face softens. “I see.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not going to tell anyone, are you?” Rey asks, injecting a nervous innocence into her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course not.” The woman sets down her basket and holds out her hand. “I’m Shmi Skywalker.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey sucks in a breath as she shakes the other woman’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you.” Shmi holds up her basket. “Want to help me pick mushrooms off the vaporators?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey smiles. “I’d love to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>To Rey’s relief and delight, Shmi is the one who does most of the talking. She clearly takes pity on the younger woman, believing her to be a slave (not untrue, Rey reminds herself when she feels guilty--she </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> a slave to Unkar Plutt), and tries to distract her with happier things. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was a slave too, once,” Shmi says as she leads Rey to the vaporators. Rey is familiar with the machines, but she lets Shmi take the lead. “I was traveling with my family when we were taken by slavers and sold to different people. I went to Gardulla the Hutt, who brought me to Tatooine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How did you end up here?” Rey asks, genuinely wanting to hear Shmi tell the story she’s only heard in bits and pieces.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Gardulla loves to gamble--all the Hutts do. She lost us in a bet, my son and I. A junk dealer named Watto became our new master.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A junk dealer?” Rey asks, biting back a smile. “That’s funny--my old master was a junk dealer, too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shmi beams at her. “We’re not so different, then.” Her smile falls. “Except, I was never brave enough to run away. I was scared. Even after my son left.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Anakin.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “But you’re here now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes. My husband...we met when he visited Mos Espa. It was love at first sight.” She smiles dreamily. “He sold nearly everything he had to pay for me. As soon as he brought me here, to his home, he freed me and told me I could go wherever I wanted. I chose to stay with him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What about your son?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shmi’s face falls, just a little. “He was taken by a Jedi master to Coruscant, to become a Jedi himself. I’m so proud of him...but Jedi do not have families, you know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey bites her lip. “That doesn’t seem fair.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No distractions, is what they tell me.” Shmi gives a modest shrug. “It got him out of here, didn’t it? It gave him a better life.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Did it, though?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Rey wonders. </span>
  <em>
    <span>If Anakin had remained on Tatooine, if he had lived and died in obscurity, would that have been such a bad thing?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What about you?” Shmi asks, setting down her basket and plucking mushrooms from the vaporator.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey hesitates. “When I was six, my parents sold me to a junk dealer. Unkar Plutt. They sold me for drinking money, and now they’re dead in a pauper’s grave.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shmi straightens up. “I’m so sorry--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s alright,” Rey lies. “I’m alright. Now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nevertheless, Shmi embraces her, and Rey stifles a sob at the contact. This is a mother’s hug, one that makes Rey feel safe and loved and like she belongs. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Like Leia’s hugs.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You must stay with us,” Shmi decides, pulling back. “I’ll speak to Cliegg, but I can’t imagine him saying no. He’s a good man, as is his son. His girlfriend comes around quite a lot, too, you’ll like her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey smiles at her. “I would love that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cliegg Lars is standing in the open courtyard, talking to a man who is his younger copy, when the two women return. They both look up, evidently surprised at seeing Rey.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who’s this?” Cliegg asks, his voice rough. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is Rey,” Shmi says, putting her arm around the other woman. “She ran away from her master, and she’s going to stay with us for a while.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cliegg’s face softens. “Rey. Welcome. My name is Cliegg Lars; this is my son, Owen.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello,” Owen says quietly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello,” Rey says back. “Thank you--I know this doesn’t put you in an easy position, but I promise I won’t make any trouble, and I’m a hard worker, I can help around the farm--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s all very well,” Cliegg says, not ungently. “But first, what do you say to breakfast?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey smiles. “Breakfast sounds perfect.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey friends! Quick note: while I didn't think this needed to be said, let me stress that this is a very self-indulgent piece of fiction that I wrote out of spite and it should be taken as such. I am not interested in criticism, constructive or otherwise. Any attempt at "well actually" will not be treated with respect. </p>
<p>The rest of y'all are valid as fuck and I love you.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Life on the Lars farm is good. The family accepts her without question, happy to give her a bed to sleep in and food to eat and work to do. Rey loves all of them, from Shmi’s gentle mothering to Cliegg’s gruff kindness to Owen’s shy excitement. She loves Owen’s girlfriend, too, a pretty girl named Beru Whitesun; she’s just as shy as Owen, but more mischievous than she looks at first glance. She even finds herself bonding with C-3PO, who she never liked much on the Resistance base, but at least he’s someone familiar to her here. She hadn’t known he was the same droid that came with Leia to the Resistance--she wonders if Leia has any idea how long the protocol droid had been with her family. Anakin built him, Shmi tells her...and in a way, Rey supposes that makes him Luke and Leia’s brother. The thought tickles her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I could be happy here, just like this,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Rey thinks sometimes, watching the family that’s adopted her. All her life, all she wanted was a family, a place to belong. She belongs here, with the Lars family. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What if I never meet Anakin? What if life goes on as it should?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But that would be impossible. She could never forgive herself for letting it all happen again. Even if Anakin doesn’t come here to see his mother, she’ll have to find a way to go to him. Better yet, she’ll have to find a way to get to Palpatine, and stop him now before it’s too late. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Before he can get to Anakin and ruin everything.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She goes out to the vaporators on the far edge of the property with Beru one day, both women chatting happily, when Tusken speeders come close. Beru screams, but Rey stands firm, waving in a friendly manner at the Tuskens. They wave back, calling back in their odd, honking tongue, before passing by.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re Tuskens!” Beru exclaims in fear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So? Haven’t you heard the stories? They kidnap women and rape them, and they eat babies, and--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Beru, do you have any idea what you sound like?” Rey scoffs, a little disappointed that this is the attitude of her new friend. “They don’t do any of those things. They’re people, just like you and me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They don’t talk like people.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She rolls her eyes. “They don’t speak Basic because their vocal cords aren’t set up that way, but plenty of other species can’t speak Basic either. That’s no reason to be afraid of them or treat them less-than.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Beru hesitates. “Well...how do you communicate with them, then?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You sign.” Rey sets down her basket to show her. “This means </span>
  <em>
    <span>hello.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Beru’s hands awkwardly form the shapes. “Hello.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello,” Rey agrees. “And this means </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m a friend.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Beru copies the motions. “How do you know this?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I asked around.” Rey picks up her basket and continues on to the vaporator. “This planet used to belong to them, you know, and the Jawas. It’s people like you and me, humans, who came in and made them live out in the desert. The Tuskens used to have cities, but now they wander the desert because we took the cities from them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We didn’t,” Beru says, horrified, but Rey shakes her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They don’t teach it in most of the schools, but it’s the truth. Ask the Tuskens and the Jawas.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why would humans </span>
  <em>
    <span>choose</span>
  </em>
  <span> to come here, though?” Beru presses. “I mean, this place isn’t exactly the Core.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Definitely not,” Rey agrees. “But, I don’t know. Maybe they were running away from something. Maybe they were like Shmi and me, brought here by slavers.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not from Tatooine either?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey hesitates. “Not exactly.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where are you from? If you don’t mind talking about it,” Beru says quickly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey hesitates again. “Honestly...I don’t really know. I don’t remember much of my life before I became a slave.” Then, because it feels dishonest not to, she adds, “I do remember living on Jakku, though.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jakku?” Beru wrinkles her nose. “Where’s that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Western Reaches.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Western Reaches!” Beru skips to catch up with her. “That’s so close to the Core, though!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s the Mid-Rim.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And slavery’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>allowed</span>
  </em>
  <span> there?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nothing’s really </span>
  <em>
    <span>allowed</span>
  </em>
  <span> there,” Rey corrects. “It just...happens. It’s a junkyard. There isn’t any law or government. Tatooine is bustling with life in comparison.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow.” Beru looks at her with new appreciation in her eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t want to talk about Jakku anymore,” Rey says, focusing on harvesting the water collected by the vaporator.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure, right, of course.” Beru hesitates. “So...what other languages can you speak?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Teedo. Um...Wookie. Oh, and I can understand binary.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Beru gapes at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She asks Rey to speak Wookie as they walk back to the homestead; Rey is trying her very best (somewhere, she can hear Chewie laughing at her) when they notice a sleek, silver ship parked outside. Exchanging glances, the two women head inside, where they hear voices coming from the dining room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shmi?” Rey asks, setting down her basket. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In here!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey follows the sound of her voice into the dining room, where Shmi is sitting with two people Rey recognizes but does not know.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rey!” she says, smiling and patting the arm of the sandy-haired man beside her. “You’ll never believe...this is my son, Anakin. All grown up now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin Skywalker turns piercing blue eyes to Rey, smiling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Anakin Skywalker. Darth Vader. Father to Luke and Leia, grandfather to Ben Solo, the last apprentice Palpatine ever took.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And this is his friend from Naboo, Padmé,” Shmi continues. “Anakin, Padmé, this is the girl I was telling you about, Rey.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>They’re both here. Have they married in secret yet? How long before Padmé gets pregnant? Her death heralded the end of the Clone Wars and the beginning of the Empire, but no one here’s said anything about the Clone Wars yet.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rey,” Anakin says, standing up, and Rey stumbles forward to shake his hand. It feels so odd, to touch this man’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you,” she manages. “Your mother’s told me so much about you.” She shakes Padmé’s hand too, hardly able to believe how beautiful the other woman is. “Hello.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello,” Padmé says softly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shmi introduces the two to Beru, who offers to get dinner started. Rey and Padmé both volunteer to help her, leaving Shmi time to catch up with Anakin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t know Jedi could have girlfriends,” Beru says as Padmé follows them into the kitchen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Padmé flushes. “They can’t. We’re not. He’s...just a friend.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Must be a very good friend, for you to come all the way to Tatooine with him,” Beru teases. “No one ever comes here by choice.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shmi is my friend too,” Padmé says, surprising Rey. “The Queen sought refuge here ten years ago during a struggle with the Trade Federation. She sent me to come to the planet and learn what I could. That’s how I met Anakin; he was a slave boy who showed us around, and when a sandstorm hit, he and Shmi offered us shelter in their house. We stayed with them for several days.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t know that,” Rey says. She knows that Padmé was once the Queen of Naboo, but she supposes she wants to play down her true identity here. She’d always wondered how the Queen of Naboo met and fell in love with a Jedi apprentice--now, it makes a little more sense.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So what brings you here?” Rey presses as she and Beru bustle around the kitchen--Padmé stands helplessly at the back, unfamiliar with the space, but she seizes any task the other two give her. “Just a visit?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Padmé glances at the door through which the two Skywalkers sit. “Anakin had a...bad feeling. He wanted to make sure his mom was okay.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Even when she wasn’t taken by Tuskens, he had a premonition. Was it Palpatine, showing him things the way he showed Ben? And if it was, what happens if and when he finds out Shmi is alive and unharmed?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cliegg and Owen show up an hour or so later, just in time for dinner. Rey and Beru went all-out, heaping dishes high with food for their guests, and they trot them out proudly when the others have settled at the table. For someone who didn’t know anything about cooking when she came to the Lars family, Rey has learned a lot since. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shmi</span>
  </em>
  <span> taught her a lot, her patience unending as she showed Rey how to make basic dishes and work her way up from there. She clearly reveled at the thought of having a child to teach things to, and Rey, who has never had a parent of her own, reveled in those lessons, too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The admiration is clear on Shmi’s face as Anakin regales them all with tales of his exploits. He has a captive audience; no one in the room, save Rey and Padmé, has ever left Tatooine, and they find his tales remarkable. Even Rey, who </span>
  <em>
    <span>has</span>
  </em>
  <span> had wild adventures, cannot help but listen in awe. The man across the table from her is around her age, only a couple years younger, yet he’s experienced so much.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I was twenty before I ever left Jakku; he’s twenty and has already been to more planets than I probably ever will.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The conversation continues well past dinner, when the plates have been cleared and caf is served in its place. Rey and Beru make Cliegg and Owen clean up, since the girls were the ones to make dinner and Shmi is visiting with their guests. They prop their chins in their hands, listening to Anakin’s seemingly never-ending supply of stories. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So,” Shmi asks at last, when Anakin stops to take a breath, “how long are you staying?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He glances at Padmé, who looks equally uncertain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A few days,” she says at last, speaking for both of them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin relaxes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shmi relaxes, too, squeezing her son’s hand. “That’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>wonderful,</span>
  </em>
  <span> I’m so glad to hear it. It’s been too long since the last time I saw you.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ten years,” he says at once. “Half my life.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shmi’s smile grows sad. “You’ve grown into such a handsome young man, Ani. I’m so proud of you. I think about you every day.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Most men might blush at such open honesty from their mothers, but not Anakin. “I think about you too. All the time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey suddenly feels like an intruder. She quietly excuses herself, padding out of the dining room and up to her room, where she dims the lights before lying on the bed. Tears prick her eyes, unbidden. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>They’re all a family down there. I’m just the stranger they picked up, some girl who doesn’t really belong. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>You’re not alone,</em>
  </b>
  <span> a voice long dead tells her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She rolls onto her stomach and buries her face in the pillows. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I am now.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In the morning, she wakes up before the others to pick mushrooms from the vaporators. She leaves quietly, careful not to rouse Anakin from where he’s sleeping on the couch. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Only, Anakin isn’t sleeping on the couch. He’s waiting for her outside the house; when she comes up the steps out of the dome, his lightsaber hums to life, crossing down in front of her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Without even thinking, she reaches for her own saber, the gold igniting and meeting the blue with an electric crackle. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyes widen when she realizes what she’s done, looking over at Anakin. His own eyes are curious as he steps back, returning his saber to his belt. “Who are you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey hesitates. “That...is a very long story.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Rey decides to chance it and tell Anakin (almost) everything. She tells him that she comes from the future, a future where the Sith rose and fell and rose and fell again, where the Jedi were no more and she was all that was left of their order. She doesn’t tell him about his part to play, or that she is the granddaughter of the Sith lord who led it all. Somehow, she doesn’t think he’s quite ready to hear that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin listens with a furrowed brow, but he does not interrupt her or show any evident signs of disbelief. If anything, his Force signature seems thoughtful, pensive, almost as if he takes her seriously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Please believe me,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thinks desperately. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’ve come too far to stop now.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When she’s done, Anakin sits for a long, contemplative moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright,” he says at last. “Say you’re right. Say you are from the future. Why are you here, in the Jundland Wastes of Tatooine? Why aren’t you in Coruscant, appealing to the Jedi Council or the Senate?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Wayfinder takes you back in time to wherever you’re currently standing--or sitting, or...whatever. It doesn’t take you to a specific place.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” he says patiently, “but why </span>
  <em>
    <span>here?</span>
  </em>
  <span> You knew what the Wayfinder would do. Why did you take it to my mother’s house and lie about being a runaway slave?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She hesitates. “I was hoping to meet you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looks away. “You have a part to play in all this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What kind of part?” His energy flickers. “Is it...because I’m the Chosen One?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She takes a deep breath. “Something like that, yeah.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin considers her. “How did you know I would be here? I’m not supposed to be. I’m supposed to be on Naboo with Padmé--but most people wouldn’t know that. Most people would assume I’d be at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. You know something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shifts her weight from foot to foot. “Okay, um...you know how you kept having visions of your mother?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes widen. “How did you know that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your life isn’t your own,” she says gently. “It never has been. You were created for a purpose, and everything you’ve ever done created a chain of events, one after the other.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He furrows his brow. “Okay...but how did you know I’ve had visions about my mother?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She bites her lip. “Because you left a holocron behind. In my...timeline.” Getting her hands on that had been no easy thing. She’d seen the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker--and the rise and fall of Darth Vader. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you saw the visions of my mother?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re not real visions. I know they look like it, but they’re not. They’re visions that someone is planting in your head.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His frown deepens. “Who?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looks away. “A Sith lord named Sidious.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sidious.” His lips form the word curiously. “Who is he?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She walks away, digging the toe of her boot into the sand. “Someone we have to stop.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why is he making me see things?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Because he wants to turn you to the Dark Side.” She takes a deep breath and turns to face him. “In my timeline, your mother died. The Tusken Raiders took her and tortured her, and she died in your arms. The Wayfinder brought me here to the day she was supposed to be taken. I stopped it from happening.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You stopped it?” he repeats incredulously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looks taken aback. “Well, I guess I should thank you for that.” He swallows. “Rey, in your timeline, do I...</span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> I turn to the Dark Side?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looks away again. “Yes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He swallows. “Oh. And you’re...trying to stop it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’s quiet for a long moment. “I want to believe you’re lying,” he says at last. “I want to believe it so much. But...you’re not. I can feel it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” she agrees. “I’m not.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He paces up and down. “Okay. Okay. So...how does it happen?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Slowly. Someone you trust is lying to you, but you don’t know until it’s...until it’s too late. Your mother dies, only I guess, not anymore. You marry Padmé. A war starts. When it’s over, or nearly over, she gets pregnant. You have visions of her the way you had visions of your mother. You try to save her...and in so doing, you turn to the Dark Side.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin turns, staring at her. “This is true?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you know all this from the holocron?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Some,” she admits. “The rest...I learned from your children.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My </span>
  <em>
    <span>children?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She smiles weakly. “I’ll tell you about them someday.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>C-3PO comes hurrying towards them, his mechanical legs audible even from a distance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Master Anakin!” he cries, raising an arm in greeting. “A transmission came in for you from an Obi-Wan Kenobi.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Obi-Wan?” Anakin looks glum. “Oh.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It sounds quite urgent.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin and Rey trade looks before heading for his ship. Padmé is already sitting in the cockpit, curious at Rey’s presence, but Anakin only says, “She’s alright,” before Padmé nods and plays the transmission.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A man Rey has never seen before but instinctively </span>
  <em>
    <span>knows</span>
  </em>
  <span> appears on the holoprojector. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anakin,” he says in a voice she’s heard only twice before. “My long range transmitter has been knocked out. Retransmit this message to Coruscant.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Padmé does, and the three of them watch as Obi-Wan Kenobi continues with his message. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have tracked the bounty hunter Jango Fett to the droid foundries on Geonosis. The Trade Federation is to take delivery of a droid army here, and it is clear that Viceroy Gunray is behind the assassination attempts on Senator Amidala. The Commerce Guilds and the Corporate Alliance have both pledged their armies to Count Dooku and are forming a--wait. Wait.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They watch as he pulls out his lightsaber and fends off blaster shots, which are coming from approaching battle droids. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A new person enters the hologram, a Jedi with a deep voice. “Anakin, we will deal with Count Dooku. The most important thing is for you to stay where you are. Protect the senator at all costs. That is your first priority.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Understood, Master,” Anakin says quietly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the hologram dies out, Padmé turns to Anakin. “They’ll never get there in time to save him. They have to come halfway across the galaxy, look.” She pulls up a map, which zooms in on the Geonosian system. “Geonosis is less than a parsec away.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If he’s still alive,” Anakin says, not sounding confident. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With more passion than Rey’s heard from the other woman yet, Padmé demands, “Ani, are you just gonna sit here and let him die? He’s your friend, your mentor, he’s--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s like my father,” Anakin says harshly. “But you heard Master Windu. He gave me strict orders to stay here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Padmé’s face sets in stone. This is the Queen of Naboo, Rey sees now; this is the senator so many want dead. “He gave you strict orders to protect </span>
  <em>
    <span>me, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m</span>
  </em>
  <span> going to help Obi-Wan. If you plan to protect me, you’ll just have to come along.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin gives a grudging smile at her defiance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey, lingering in the corner, clears her throat. “I know Obi-Wan is important to you...but we can’t go to Geonosis. We have to go to Coruscant, or what Obi-Wan risked his life for won’t mean anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” Padmé asks sharply. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin glances between the two women. “Rey...knows things.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Knows things?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey stares at him, wondering if he’s about to tell the truth, if he trusts Padmé enough to do it. He looks at Rey, and she nods. It’s alright. Padmé can know. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He takes a deep breath. “Rey is...from the future.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Padmé stares at them. “The future.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know how it sounds,” Rey says quickly. “It’s...hard to explain. And I don’t blame you for...not believing it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, I believe it,” Padmé says, surprising her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You do?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes. You’re wildly out of place here--you’re definitely not a runaway slave. Not on Tatooine, anyway. And you just </span>
  <em>
    <span>happened</span>
  </em>
  <span> to end up at the home of the Chosen One’s mother?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You have a lightsaber, Rey,” Padmé says in a tone that brooks no room for argument. “Did you really think no one would notice?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I didn’t think anyone would notice I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>from the future.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t,” Padmé says, not unkindly. “I said I believe you’re from the future. You’re...definitely not from here, is all I’m saying.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey inclines her head. “Fair enough.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So...the future.” Padmé crosses her legs, hands folded in her lap. “How and why?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey ticks off her fingers. “A Jedi artifact that allows you to travel through time, and to stop a galactic war that culminates in the death of democracy and Anakin turning to the Dark Side.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Padmé raises her eyebrows. “Wow.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Padmé turns to Anakin. “And you believe this?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin hesitates. “She’s not lying. I know that. I can feel it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay.” Padmé turns back to Rey. “And what exactly are you getting out of this? Changing the future?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey gapes at her. “It’s...did you not hear the part about the death of democracy and Anakin turning to the Dark Side?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You must have a personal stake in this,” Padmé counters. “Some reason that you, Rey, came back here to change the course of history. I mean, if you changed the course of history enough, you might not even be born, assuming this plan works, or your life would irrevocably change.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey takes a deep breath. “Well, yeah, that’s...I won’t be born, if this works.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Padmé tilts her head. “Really?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Another deep breath. “Yeah. Because um...the person who’s responsible for all this...is my grandfather. And if we don’t stop him, if we don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>kill</span>
  </em>
  <span> him...he’s going to do exactly what he did before, in my time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin looks stunned. “Who is he? Your grandfather?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She feels her hands tremble. “He...he’s Darth Sidious.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Kriff, I might as well tell them, I’ve told them this much.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “But you know him as Palpatine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Palpatine</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Anakin and Padmé exclaim.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That can’t be,” Anakin says at once. “He’s not...the chancellor isn’t Force sensitive, let alone a Sith lord.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He is,” Rey says softly. “He’s hidden it from the Jedi for years. He’s so powerful, Anakin, you have no idea. He wants to turn you to the Dark Side and he won’t stop until he does.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She can see the heartbreak on Anakin’s face as he tries to come to terms with the idea that the man he’s trusted, a mentor to him, is working to turn him to the Dark Side. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t believe it,” Padmé says quietly. “He’s from Naboo, he helped me so much when I was queen. Even as a senator, he looks out for me. After the attempt on my life, it was his idea to assign Anakin and Obi-Wan as my protect...ion…” She stands up. “He knew what would happen. He knew Anakin and Obi-Wan are my friends and care about me too much to not investigate. He knew that that investigation would lead to Obi-Wan discovering the clone army and the Trade Federation’s part in it.” She paces up and down, eyes wide. “All this time, he’s been working with them. It explains so much. This is how Nute Gunray was able to stay in power for so long, because Palpatine was pulling the strings. Of course.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But why?” Anakin asks, pleading, still unable to believe it of his old friend. “To what end?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“People flock to leaders in a time of crisis,” Padmé says at once, thinking. “He creates a war and then steps in as the hero who will lead us to peace. And he can, at any time, because he’s pulling the strings on both sides.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Exactly,” Rey says. “He’ll be granted emergency powers, and he’ll use those powers to overthrow the Senate and the Jedi in one stroke.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rey,” Anakin says, voice strained, “are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure</span>
  </em>
  <span> about this?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She draws herself up. “I’m positive.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s right, Ani,” Padmé says softly. “We might be able to save Obi-Wan, but that won’t stop Palpatine. But if we head straight for Coruscant, we can stop him before emergency powers can be granted to him, and before the war can escalate.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Anakin still looks hesitant, Rey holds out her hand. “I can show you. If you think you can handle it. I’m warning you, though, it’s not pretty. I had nightmares for days.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stares at her hand for a long moment...and then takes it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Instantly, the two fall back in a red rush of wind. Rey shows him her memories of the holocron, the slow but fatal descent of Anakin Skywalker...and the ascent of Darth Vader. It feels strange, to show this man memories that he himself had left, and stranger still to feel his shock as each new memory unfurls in a cloud of red smoke. Once or twice she almost pulls back, but he grips her hand even tighter, determined to see it through.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shows him Padmé’s death, Darth Vader’s rise, the birth of the twins, their separation across the galaxy, Anakin’s human body becoming a machine, the Empire and the Rebellion, the fall of the Empire and the death of Vader. Then she grips his hand with both of hers and shows him </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> memories of the First Order and the Resistance, Luke and Leia and Ben. She shows him the second ascent of Palpatine, how he had killed Rey and how Ben had died to bring her back. She shows him everything, until blue wind rushes past them and brings them back to Tatooine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin stumbles back, his eyes wide and fearful as he pants. Rey, too, is breathless, leaning against the door and trying to stop the trembling in her knees.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Padmé looks between them both. “What happened?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I...saw,” Anakin manages. “Everything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” Rey whispers, tears in her eyes. “I didn’t want to...I was trying not to…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know.” He swallows. “I know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is going </span>
  <em>
    <span>on</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Padmé presses.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin straightens up. “She’s right--we have to stop Palpatine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a long way to Coruscant,” Padmé reminds him. “Much farther than Geonosis.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then we have to get someone in Coruscant to stall until we can get there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Padmé opens her mouth--and then her eyes sparkle. “I think I know some people.” She spins in her chair, getting ready to make calls. “You go say goodbye to your mother. We should leave as soon as possible.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right. Rey?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She nods, following Anakin off the ship. He stops her before they enter the Lars house, his mouth opening and closing as he tries to find the right words.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you,” he says at last.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey shakes her head. “Don’t thank me just yet.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Shmi is sad to see them go, but when Anakin explains that it’s a matter of life or death, she nods in resignation. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s my son; off to save the galaxy,” she says softly, cupping his cheek. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He smiles down at her, but it’s tinged with sadness. “I’m sorry I have to go so soon. I’ll see you again. I promise.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just don’t wait another ten years,” she says softly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I won’t.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shmi turns to Rey and gives her a big hug. A mother’s hug. Rey sinks into it, her breath hitching at how </span>
  <em>
    <span>nice</span>
  </em>
  <span> it feels.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Take care of each other,” Shmi tells them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We will,” Rey promises. She hugs Cliegg and Owen and Beru, too, and then heads for the ship with Anakin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anakin,” Shmi calls, and Rey and Anakin turn to look at her. “You should take C-3PO with you. He’s yours, after all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I made him to help you,” Anakin says, surprised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“When I was a slave and had to upkeep our house </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> Watto’s,” Shmi reminds him. “Now there are four of us to run the house and farm.” She steps closer and murmurs, “And truth be told, Cliegg is sick to death of him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey smiles. “We’ll take him. He’ll be good company.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By the time the three of them head into the ship, Padmé is finishing up a call with a Gungan. She turns to look at them. “I think I can buy us the time. I’ve spoken to dear friends of mine in the Senate; they’ve said they’ll figure something out. Still, we should hurry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re ready,” Anakin says, strapping himself in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Padmé sets the coordinates, and Anakin guides them off the planet and into hyperspace. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The journey to Coruscant is a long one. There are only two cabins on the ship, and Rey does her best to make sure Anakin and Padmé are forced to share one. When she and Padmé have to share a bed, she sprawls out and snores, making it impossible for Padmé to sleep comfortably. She feels a </span>
  <em>
    <span>little</span>
  </em>
  <span> bad about it...until she sees the amount of sexual tension between Anakin and Padmé and decides that it is her Force-given duty to make sure these two have sex. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>But will they?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Without Palpatine, there won’t be anyone to encourage Anakin to break the Jedi Code. Will he still abandon his vows if he isn’t being swayed by the Dark Side?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe it’s for the best if they don’t get together. It will mean no Luke or Leia...and no Ben. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her heart twists at the thought of him. Ben. She’d done this for the good of the galaxy, of course...but in so many selfish ways, she had done this for Ben. To give Ben the peace he’d never known and the life he’d always deserved. Without Palpatine, without the Empire, think what life could have been like for him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I won’t be there,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thinks sadly, </span>
  <em>
    <span>but that’s alright. As long as he’s alive and happy and safe. That’s all that matters.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will she ever tell Anakin and Padmé? Anakin knows they’ll have children, but will she ever tell him about his children...and the child his child will bear? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Will I ever tell him about Ben? Or that I loved him? That I loved him so much, that I </span>
  </em>
  <span>still </span>
  <em>
    <span>love him so much, that I’m trying to change history for him?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She suddenly feels so tired. It’s been almost a year since she faced Palpatine, her </span>
  <em>
    <span>grandfather</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and now she’s about to face him again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It would be easier with Ben by my side...but in so many ways, I’m glad he isn’t. I’m glad I can spare him this.</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After the third sleep cycle, Rey’s plan finally works. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s sprawled out on the bed when she feels Padmé’s presence come down the corridor...and bypass the cabin she’s been sharing with Rey. She feels the senator linger outside Anakin’s door...and then go inside.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey smirks into her pillow, turning off her awareness of the other woman. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe there will be a Luke and Leia after all.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey wakes up before Anakin and Padmé. She gets up to make caf (she’s ambivalent about the drink, but Padmé can barely function without it) and then heads to the cockpit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good morning, Mistress Rey!” C-3PO fairly chirps when she enters. He knows nothing about flying, but they’ve put him in the cockpit during sleep cycles so he can alert them if need be. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Morning, Threepio.” She flops into the captain’s seat. “How far from Coruscant?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We should arrive in three standard hours.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good. No new transmissions?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not since Senator Organa’s yesterday.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bail Organa had called in to tell them that the stall was successful, but only for so long.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s getting anxious,” the senator had said. “What is it you’re doing, Padmé?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Saving the galaxy. I hope.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now, Rey fiddles with the controls, checking the fuel and the engine for lack of anything better to do. The caf is steaming and ready when Anakin and Padmé finally stumble out of his cabin; Padmé grabs a mug and disappears into the ‘fresher while Anakin sits in the copilot’s seat with a shit-eating grin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So?” Rey asks, spinning her chair to face him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His grin only widens.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> it!” Rey shouts. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I appear to have missed something,” Threepio frets.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey switches him off and turns back to Anakin. “Well?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not telling you anything,” he scoffs, but he’s still grinning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey grins too, turning back to the console. “Well, I’m glad. You two were driving me crazy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You think it’ll get any better now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well now you’ll probably find a room instead of making me suffer in the same one as you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By the time Padmé has showered and changed (how many outfits she keeps on this ship, Rey doesn’t know), they’re nearly to Coruscant. They use Anakin’s Jedi clearance to dock, knowing that revealing Padmé’s presence could have dangerous implications.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey cannot stop staring at the city. She’s seen cities before, but nothing compares to this one. The bright center of the galaxy, the entire planet is one giant city covered in skyscrapers and inhabited by over a trillion people. Rey can’t even fathom a number that high. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They are dressed simply enough that they are not stopped or questioned; even Padmé, whose very pajamas are silk nightgowns embossed with pearls, wears a plain white jumpsuit and wool shawl that makes her look like any common traveler. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin goes to hail a cab, but a speeder pulls up beside them and a man Rey has only seen as a hologram leans out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Need a ride?” Bail Organa asks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bail!” Padmé climbs in, Rey and Anakin following. “How did you know we would be here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was keeping tabs. Palpatine’s in his office; Representative Binks has been, ah, taking the floor, shall we say, for the past few days.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Taking the floor?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Apparently the Gungans have quite a lot of environmental concerns. He’s kindly listed all of them and has been grandstanding even after he was offered funding to shut him up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Padmé smiles. “Good old Jar Jar.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We should hurry; if I knew you landed, Palpatine will know soon, too.” He glances at them as they head for the Senate. “This is going to end badly, isn’t it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Padmé says firmly. “It’s going to end well.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The four of them make straight for Palpatine’s office, located at the very top of the Senate building. No one stops them; rather than making her feel relieved, it only makes Rey increasingly agitated. Palpatine </span>
  <em>
    <span>has</span>
  </em>
  <span> to know they’re here by now, and if he hasn’t apprehended them yet, it means he’s planning something. Of course, he’d want to keep it private, just them in his office where no one can else can overhear their accusations...or perhaps he has something far worse planned. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Palpatine’s assistant greets them at the reception desk; the Rodian opens a comm to Palpatine and speaks in soft Huttese.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Senators Organa and Amidala are here with two Jedi.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Send them in,” Palpatine’s voice comes, clear and chilling. Rey represses a shiver at the sound of her grandfather’s voice. He’s much less sinister here and now, but she knows the truth behind his diplomatic facade. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They pass Palpatine’s red-robed guards on the way inside. They do not move or speak or even acknowledge the presence of the newcomers, but Rey knows better than to discount them. She remembers Snoke’s Praetorian guards, red-robed and silent but deadly, too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>What I wouldn’t give to have Ben beside me in this fight,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thinks miserably.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Palpatine is sitting at his desk when they enter, a benign look of puzzlement on his face. His office is expansive, as is befitting the supreme chancellor; behind him is a wide window showing an impressive view of Coruscant. Rey focuses on all of it, any of it, just to avoid looking at the man in the chair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Senator Amidala!” Palpatine exclaims. “You should be in hiding--or have your Jedi protectors found the culprit behind the attacks?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They did,” Padmé says, calm and careful. “Viceroy Gunray...who, I believe, has pledged the Trade Federation to Count Dooku, along with the Commerce Guild. And Count Dooku, we are told, reports to a Sith lord named Sidious.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh dear,” Palpatine says, sounding every bit like a kindly, older man. “A Sith lord? How dreadful--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We know that you are Darth Sidious,” Anakin interrupts, his lips curling in an angry sneer. “We know what you’re trying to do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Palpatine is quiet and still for a long moment, his eyes boring into them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I see,” he says at last, his voice becoming the cold croak Rey remembers so well. “And what do you intend to do about it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop you,” Rey says, and she runs at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She knew from the moment she walked in the room what he was going to do, and she braces herself now for his Force lightning. Sure enough, the blue web of energy comes at her; she throws up her hands, putting up her defenses and grunting as she catches the electricity and harnesses it. It takes a gargantuan effort; she digs her heels into the plush carpet and summons all her strength, crying out when his lightning threatens to overpower her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He lets up at last, and Rey hurls the lightning back at him, shouting as she feels her fingers tingle and crackle. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Palpatine slips up, but only for a moment; surprised as he is by her attack, he manages to raise his own defenses and deflect the lightning before it can do much damage. A lightsaber appears from seemingly nowhere and ignites in his hand, the blade red and malevolent. To Rey’s horror, he spins through the air with acrobatics she did not know the old man was capable of. She reaches for her own saber, but Anakin is faster; he leaps in front of her, his blade blocking Palpatine’s.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anakin!” Palpatine cries out. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Chosen One, and that is why you must let me live! You were prophesied to bring balance to the Force--what balance will there be if you kill me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey can feel Anakin’s hesitation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t listen to him!” she shouts. “He’s trying to manipulate you, just like he always has! He sent the Tusken Raiders to kill your mother, he’ll kill anyone if it will bring you to the Dark Side--and then he’ll kill you, too!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Palpatine’s eyes flicker to her; it’s just enough to let Anakin pull back and swing his saber. Palpatine blocks his blow, and the two men battle through the suite, leaping over obstacles with the agility of those strong with the Force. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>While Padmé and Bail Organa look on with wide, helpless eyes, Rey gathers her strength and waits. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t make me kill you, Anakin,” Palpatine warns, parrying another blow. “You and I can do great things together.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Before or after you kill the ones I love?” Anakin demands, kicking the Sith lord in the chest and sending him sprawling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey chooses that moment to let loose her Force lightning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s only done it a handful of times. The toll it takes is great, and always leaves her feeling drained after. But she has to do it now, to stop him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Palpatine screams, writhing in agony as the lightning consumes him. When she drops her hands, shaking, he looks as if he’s transformed into another species entirely, his skin mottled and wrinkled, his eyes yellow and glowing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who are you?” he croaks at Rey, using his arms to drag himself across the floor, towards his lightsaber. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A thousand retorts fly through her head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m your granddaughter. I’m Rey Palpatine. I’m here to stop you.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Instead, she says, “I’m no one.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin brings down his saber, severing the Sith lord’s head from his body. His yellow eyes stare at nothing, his body blissfully still and devoid of energy. He is really and truly dead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey sinks to her knees, breathing hard. Padmé rushes to Anakin, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him. Rey closes her eyes, willing her trembling body to still.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The doors swish open, and she opens her eyes to turn and look. It’s Palpatine’s guards, spears at the ready. They raise their weapons, but Rey summons what strength is left to her and uses the Force to bang their heads together, knocking them out cold. All her energy gone, blackness presses in at the edges of her vision, and she feels herself falling.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When she comes to, she’s in a painfully white room. It takes a long moment for her eyes to adjust to the brightness; when they do, she realizes that she’s in a medbay of some sort. She sits up, feeling lethargic but not in any real pain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Why am I here?</span>
  </em>
  <span> she wonders, and then it all comes rushing back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She flings back the covers, but a med droid zooms over to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello, I am T-1067, your medical assistant. Please remain in your bed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anakin,” she says. “The Jedi, what…?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Please remain in your bed.” The droid is already using thin pincers to pull the blanket up around her; grumbling, Rey settles back in the bed, arms folded over her chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I will alert your caretaker that you are conscious,” T-1067 tells her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You do that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A Twi’lek in med scrubs comes to her after a few minutes, smiling warmly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello, Rey; I’m Aihla Rezdac, one of the healers for the Jedi temple.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey’s heart pounds. “I’m in the Jedi temple?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She swallows. “How? Why?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anakin Skywalker brought you here; he was concerned when you didn’t come to that your Force usage had taken its toll on you. But not to worry, you just needed to recover. It was no mean feat, taking down a skilled Sith lord.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What happened?” Rey asks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aihla Rezdac takes a deep breath. “A lot of things. Senator Amidala and Senator Organa went to the Senate with the information they’d gathered; at the same time, the Jedi took control of the clone army and defeated the Trade Federation and Commerce Guild on Geonosis. With Palpatine killed, the Trade Federation and Commerce Guild have rallied under Count Dooku, but already they’ve had significant defections. Senator Amidala and Senator Organa have been appointed the temporary title of First Senators while the Senate determines new leadership.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Really?” Rey asks, relieved. “And Anakin?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Jedi Council has acknowledged him as a knight; his training is complete.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey sinks back against the pillows. “So...he’s not in trouble for killing Palpatine? None of us are?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you’re certainly under a bit of </span>
  <em>
    <span>scrutiny</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Aihla rephrases. “But it’s unlikely you’ll face any kind of consequences. There’s a mountain of evidence for Palpatine’s work as Darth Sidious. The only real question is, how did you find out?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey reaches for the water at her bedside. “That’s a long story.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And one the Jedi Council are extremely interested in hearing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She winces. “Oh. Right.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll let them know you’re awake.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And Anakin?” she asks. “And Padmé?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aihla smiles. “Of course.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin is at her bedside in less than an hour. There’s something different about him, and it takes Rey a long moment to realize that the thin braid he wore is now gone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re awake,” he says, relieved. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks to you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks to Aihla,” he corrects. “All I did was bring you here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, thank you anyway. I’m fully recovered now.” She stretches. “So?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, most of the council is gathered, and they’re setting a date for your hearing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My </span>
  <em>
    <span>hearing</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I haven’t told them about the Wayfinder yet,” he says, looking almost guilty. “I wasn’t sure how to explain it to them, or if it was even my explanation to give. I wanted you to be able to tell them on your own terms.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She relaxes. “That was thoughtful of you.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, well, I’m a thoughtful person.” His joking smile fades. “What are you going to tell them?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The truth.” She heaves a sigh. “If they believe it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Master Obi-Wan will,” Anakin says encouragingly. “And I think Master Yoda will, too. I can’t speak for the others.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It doesn’t really matter if they believe me or not.” She leans back against her pillows. “I mean, if and when I go back to my time...well, I won’t really be going back, will I? I won’t exist. All they’re doing by having this hearing is...delaying the inevitable.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin looks sadder than she’s ever seen him. “You could stay here. With us, in our time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t think it works that way,” she says gently.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why not?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She huffs out a laugh. “I just...I don’t think it does. Sooner or later the Wayfinder is going to catch up with me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What if it doesn’t?” He sits on the edge of her bed. “Rey, you could train here at the Temple, or Padmé could find a placement for you, you could do anything you like. Why are you resigning yourself to death?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It isn’t death, it’s…” She takes a deep breath, fiddling with her blanket. “Look...I didn’t tell you before, but...Padmé was right. I do have a personal stake in this. And not just stopping my grandfather, though that was a huge part of it. I...there’s someone that I loved, in my time.” She takes another deep breath. “And he’s your grandson.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My </span>
  <em>
    <span>grandson</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Anakin repeats in disbelief.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She bites her lip. “Yeah. His name is Ben. He’s...wonderful. But my grandfather zeroed in on him from the time he was in the womb. He plagued him with dark words and visions for years. Ben never got to know a life free from Palpatine. The only time I think he was ever really and truly happy was...when he died in my arms.” Her voice becomes thick as tears blur her vision. “I loved him so much. I still do. And if there’s any possibility that Ben will still be born…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can’t be with him,” Anakin realizes. “Not just because you’d be old enough to be his grandmother, but because...he won’t even know you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” she agrees quietly. “He won’t.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin is quiet for a moment. “You said you’d tell me about my children.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She gives him a small smile. “Luke and Leia. They’re twins. I only knew them for a brief time, but they’re both...</span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> stubborn.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He laughs. “Of course they are.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’d matured by the time I met them, but apparently they were very hotheaded when they were our age. They were raised worlds apart, because...well, because. Luke was raised by Owen and Beru on Tatooine, and Obi-Wan introduced him to the ways of the Force. Leia was raised by Bail Organa as his daughter; she became the Princess of Alderaan.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Which one had Ben?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Leia. She married a smuggler, and Ben was their son.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin laughs again. “I see.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey is quiet for a moment. “What will you and Padmé do? I mean...you both love each other.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We do,” he agrees. “But being together...we could never be truly </span>
  <em>
    <span>together</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I’d be expelled from the Jedi Order, and Padmé’s career would suffer.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She bites her lip. “But you know...in my timeline...you two were together, and you hid it, and that was part of what drove you to the Dark Side.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But Palpatine is dead.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, but...you turned to the Dark Side because you wanted to help her and you couldn’t. You couldn’t trust the Jedi, not even Obi-Wan. The only person you could trust was Palpatine. It will eat away at you, not being able to trust anyone or tell them anything. What happens if you and Padmé do have children? Are you really not going to tell Obi-Wan? Will Padmé raise them alone on Naboo?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Never,” Anakin insists, but there’s a shadow of doubt. “I...what do you want me to do, Rey? Leave the Jedi Order?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think you should reform it,” she says gently. “Luke and Ben taught me that the Jedi Order was too...rigid. It’s said that only the Sith deal in absolutes, but what is the Jedi way if not absolute?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin considers her. “I’ll think about it. But...maybe you’re right. Some of the old masters were more generous in their interpretations than others...but some were more rigid, too. Maybe the Jedi have become too rigid overall, too absolute.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you know, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am</span>
  </em>
  <span> the last of the Jedi, so I’m something of an authority on this matter,” she jokes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aihla pokes her head around the screen. “Sorry to interrupt, but we’re expecting more wounded from Geonosis and I’d like to free up some beds if I can. Do you have a place to go, Rey?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Rey starts to say, but Anakin speaks over her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, she does.” He gives her a meaningful look. “You do have a place to stay.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey shuts her mouth. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright then,” Aihla says cheerfully. “I’ll have your things brought to you and your discharge drafted.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Rey has been discharged from the medbay, Anakin leads her through the temple and to the speeder bay. She can’t stop looking around the temple, eyes wide as she takes in the magnificence of it all. It’s nothing like the hollow tree trunk on Ahch-To, with its one carved table of hand-written books. The temple is very nearly the size of Luke’s island, maybe even bigger. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Almost all of the Jedi in the galaxy live here. There are so many.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The other Jedi give her curious looks, but they are quick to hide their feelings. Not so the padawans and younglings, the children who are training to become Jedi knights. They stare at Rey with wide eyes as they feel her Force signature, raw and untamed. She smiles at them, but they only whisper and stare. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At last, the plush red carpet gives way to duracrete, and they are in a pod of speeders. Anakin takes one, and he and Rey are directed out into a high lane of traffic. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How do you know where to go?” Rey asks, half in awe and half in complaint as Anakin moves calmly upward. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It took me a long time to learn,” he admits. “But it’s second nature to me now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey watches as the city passes by, buildings made of almost every kind of material in every kind of shape. She’s so consumed with taking it all in that she hardly notices when they slow to a stop.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Here we are,” Anakin says, and when she looks up, she realizes that they’re parked outside what looks like a beautiful penthouse suite. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mistress Rey!” C-3PO calls out from where he’s rushing out to greet them. “It’s so good to see you again!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, Threepio,” she says, eyeing the gold sheen. “New parts?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Master Anakin fit them himself!” Threepio preens. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you look wonderful.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you!” he cries. “I feel like a new droid! Oh, do come in,” he says quickly, seeing Rey stifle a yawn. “You must be tired.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am a little,” she admits, following the droid into the lavish apartment. “Is this...</span>
  <em>
    <span>yours</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” she asks Anakin uncertainly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He laughs. Hard. “No! Can you imagine? No, this is Padmé’s apartment. She’s at the Senate right now, but she has a room ready for you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“For me?” Rey repeats in surprise.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course for you. You didn’t think we were going to leave you in the medbay, did you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well...yes,” she admits. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shakes his head. “Rey...you saved my life, and Padmé’s, and my mother’s. You’re family to us. We wouldn’t leave you in a medbay.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyes very nearly threaten to fill with tears. She wipes them away, sniffling and focusing on the fountain, because yes, Padmé has a </span>
  <em>
    <span>fountain</span>
  </em>
  <span> in her apartment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They pass through an outdoor lounge, then an indoor lounge, and then down a corridor with doors sealed shut. Threepio opens one and beckons Rey through. It’s a big, open room; like most of the apartment, the carpet and drapes are navy blue, with a bedspread to match. It’s simply furnished; lamps on the two bedside tables, an unframed mirror over a dresser, closed closet doors. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not much,” Anakin starts to say, but Rey shakes her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s perfect,” she tells him. “Thank you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her stomach rumbles loudly at that moment, and before she can feel embarrassed about it, Anakin grins. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The kitchen is </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> well-stocked...let’s see what we can find.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They’re eating their third course and watching soap operas when Padmé comes home. She’s bedecked in a voluminous gown of black velvet and gold medallions, and she looks every inch the regal senator. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>She looks like Ben,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Rey thinks pathetically. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s happy to see them both, but she’s visibly drained; she kicks off her shoes and drapes herself over the sofa, resting her head in Anakin’s lap. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Being First Senator is so much work,” she groans. “I never even wanted to become chancellor, and now I’m essentially running the Senate. At least Bail is there; I don’t know how I’d survive otherwise.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s going to happen?” Rey asks, genuinely curious.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, we’ve appointed a committee to open an investigation,” Padmé begins, sighing heavily. “We want to review the process by which Palpatine ousted Chancellor Valorum from office and made himself Supreme Chancellor, and make sure there are restrictions in place to prevent that sort of thing happening again. We also want to put laws in place that make it difficult for too many emergency powers to be granted to the Supreme Chancellor without some kind of approval process, or that all emergency powers are given only under the understanding that the Supreme Chancellor has to be completely transparent about the usage of those powers, and so on.” She takes the glass of wine Threepio brings her. “It would take a skilled manipulator like Palpatine to get that far, obviously, but now that we’ve seen what he was doing, we want to do what we can to prevent it happening again.” She sits up, sipping her wine. “And once the committee has reviewed the process and new laws are put into place, we can hold elections for a new Supreme Chancellor.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That sounds like it could take a while,” Rey says carefully.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It will. And it will take even longer with Count Dooku still in hiding and amassing an army in the Outer Rim. Most of the Trade Federation and Commerce Guild have surrendered, but they still have considerable numbers, and the advantage of their homeworlds if we go on the offensive.” She gives Rey a wry smile. “So that’s what’s been happening while you were unconscious.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So I didn’t miss much, then,” Rey jokes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anakin says you’re to have a hearing. Are you nervous?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” Rey says flatly. “I don’t know how to explain the truth. I mean, what if there’s some...Jedi law I broke?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There isn’t,” Anakin says calmly. “I already checked.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>checked</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes. We do have a library at the Temple, you know.” He gives Rey a sardonic smile. “I had to bring down the suspicion of Jocasta Nu, I’ll have you know; </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> a pleasant interaction. But I found what I needed to know about Wayfinders, and those that turn time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And what did you find out?” she asks, curious.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Very little. They were created by the Sith to change past events, but the problem is that </span>
  <em>
    <span>because</span>
  </em>
  <span> they change the course of history, we don’t have a lot of information about their use, because assuming one uses a time-changing Wayfinder, the world post-Wayfinder is not the same as the one pre-Wayfinder.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s very confusing,” Rey says. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes. Luckily for us. It creates more loopholes for us to walk through.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She grins. “Have a lot of experience with those, do you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Some,” he says, grinning back. “It’s good, really. You acted with completely selfless motives.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her smile fades. “Not </span>
  <em>
    <span>completely</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rey. You won’t even exist if and when you go back to your time. You came back in time to stop your grandfather even when you knew the cost. If that isn’t selfless, I don’t know what is.” When she doesn’t say anything, he adds, “If anything, the council should be thanking you. You went back in time to stop the greatest threat our galaxy has known since the Jedi were at war with the Sith.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, well. We’ll see,” she mumbles, tucking her knees against her chest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, if things take a turn for the worse, you can always use aggressive negotiations,” Padmé suggests.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aggressive negotiations?” Rey repeats.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Negotiations with a lightsaber.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin and Padmé smile at each other with a look that makes Rey feel like an intruder. They sit closer on the couch, all soft smiles and murmurs, and Rey feels her heart twinge in envy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>They get to be together in this life. They get to spend the rest of their lives together. But I was never meant to have that. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As soon as she’s politely able to, she excuses herself from the lounge, going to the refresher attached to her room. She sits under the hot spray until the tears stop flowing, and then she dries herself, crawls into bed, and falls into a restless sleep.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It isn’t long at all before the council summons her, but it feels like much longer. Rey’s stomach twists the entire way to the temple, and it grows even worse when she and Anakin step into the lift. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Relax,” he tells her. “I’ll be beside you the whole time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It makes her feel better, but only a little. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When they step out of the lift and down the corridor, a man Rey recognizes as Obi-Wan Kenobi greets them outside a closed door. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You must be Rey,” he says kindly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Master Kenobi,” she responds in her most respectful voice. Does she tell him that she’s heard his voice before? That he helped her summon the strength to defeat her grandfather?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The council is waiting. Are you ready?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shrugs helplessly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan palms them into the room. It’s a huge, circular chamber, with an expansive view of the city beyond. Chairs are arranged in a circle, and in them sit Jedi legends Rey has only read about. Yoda. Mace Windu. Ki-Adi-Mundi. Kit Fisto. Agen Kolar. Saesee Tiin. Her trepidation grows tenfold, until she feels Anakin’s Force signature probe into hers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Relax,</span>
  </em>
  <span> he seems to say, and she tries.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rey,” Mace Windu says, and his voice is harsher than it had been that day. “Do you have another name?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’d called herself Rey Skywalker once. She was born Rey Palpatine. But in truth, neither of those names are really hers. She’s just...Rey.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” she says. “Just Rey.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Very well. Where do you come from, Rey?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jakku,” she says honestly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That would explain why there is no record of you anywhere in the Republic’s archives,” Ki-Adi-Mundi says, not unkindly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She takes a deep breath. “Well, that...but there’s another reason, Master.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin’s hand brushes hers reassuringly. Emboldened, she says, “Because I wasn’t born in the Republic. I was born in a different time, under a regime called the New Republic.” She takes another deep breath. “Masters, I come from a different timeline, one where Palpatine succeeded and became Emperor of a fascist regime known as the Empire. He issued an order to destroy all Jedi, leaving only himself and his Sith apprentice. A Rebel Alliance was formed in opposition, but it took over twenty years to overthrow the empire and form a New Republic and a new Jedi Order. It wasn’t enough. Palpatine survived, and sought to destroy the Republic a second time. I killed him, as I was the last Jedi in that timeline, but I could never live with the guilt of knowing how many lives were lost because of him. I found a Sith Wayfinder that would turn back time, so I used it to come to your time and stop Palpatine before the war could begin.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Jedi in the room are silent for a long moment, examining her. She can feel them probing her mind, and she opens it freely, allowing them to see the truth of her words. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The truth, she speaks,” Yoda says at last.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I agree,” pipes up Ki-Adi-Mundi. “Where is the Wayfinder now, Rey?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She glances at Anakin, who nods encouragingly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“On Tatooine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is it safe?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes. I buried it deep in the sand.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mace Windu looks at her, not quite with mistrust, but something like it. “What did you have to gain from this? Turning back time?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wanted to stop Palpatine.” She knows there’s no use trying to hide the truth.  “I wanted to stop him because he’s my grandfather.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The atmosphere changes as everyone absorbs this new piece of information. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your grandfather?” Kit Fisto leans forward. “Then you are a Palpatine as well?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” she says firmly. “His son was my father, but’s where our connection ends. He wanted me dead when I was a little girl; my parents left me on Jakku to protect me. I didn’t meet him until I was grown, and he tried to kill me then, too. My father could not stop him, but I could, and I did. Twice. Now my father will never be born...and neither will I.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You killed Palpatine knowing you would cease to exist?” Mace Windu asks sharply.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She nods. “Yes. Look, it wasn’t because I was selfless or noble or anything like that.” Her voice catches. “I spent two years alone, living with shame and guilt and regret. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Trillions</span>
  </em>
  <span> of people died because of me. I can’t even fathom how many people that is. He destroyed entire planets, star systems...yet I was allowed to live. Finding that Wayfinder wasn’t just luck, it was a chance to right all the wrongs he committed.” She takes a deep breath. “So yes, I killed Palpatine knowing I would cease to exist, and knowing that those trillions of people would get to live and know peace, not war.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The room is quiet for a long moment. At last, Kit Fisto asks in a soft voice, “What do you plan to do now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hadn’t really gotten that far,” she admits. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Would you stay here? In this time?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No. I...I don’t think I could. There are people I knew in my time, it would be...it would be too strange. Too difficult. And even with what I’ve done, I...I don’t know if I want to. There are too many memories.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin’s hand brushes hers again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wrong we were, perhaps,” Yoda croaks. “The Chosen One, young Skywalker may not be. Balance to the Force, Rey has brought.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not balance, though,” Rey says before she can stop herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Mace Windu asks in that same sharp tone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not balance. It’s all light. There’s no room for darkness, no grey area. I’m told that only the Sith deal in absolutes, yet what is the Jedi Order if not absolute? No attachments, no anger, no hate, no room to feel human. It’s wrong.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Perhaps there is more of your grandfather in you than you think,” Kit Fisto says coldly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Perhaps there is,” she snaps. “But there are other things, too. Love, and sadness, and anger. You fear emotion so much that it has corrupted you. You steal children from their parents and force them to take on lives they never asked for. Count Dooku hated you for it, and now look, he’s the Sith lord leading the army Palpatine started. You took Anakin from his mother and left her a slave on Tatooine. The Jedi were meant to help the galaxy, not turn a blind eye to its injustices.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You do not know of what you speak,” Kit Fisto thunders. “You were born years after the Jedi were killed, how could you possibly understand?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> the last Jedi. I tried to run from the darkness, but it always caught up with me. It will catch up with you too.” She makes for the door, her blood boiling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You have not been given permission to leave,” Mace Windu reminds her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She whirls to face him. “Didn’t you hear a word I said? I’m not a Jedi anymore, I don’t answer to you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>To her surprise, Anakin stands beside her. “Neither do I.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anakin,” Obi-Wan says, surprised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mace Windu furrows his brow. “You have something to say, Anakin?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rey is right. The Jedi Order has become the very thing it sought to destroy. There’s no room for emotion, for love. I had to leave my mother behind on Tatooine because the Jedi would not help her. Slavery still exists on Tatooine, and the Jedi have done nothing.” His voice quivers with emotion. “Qui-Gon said he freed me, but all he did was deliver me to new masters. I have never been free. Not until today. I’m leaving the Jedi Order. Goodbye, Masters.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Together, he and Rey walk out of the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anakin?” Obi-Wan calls, following them out of the room, but Anakin keeps walking down the corridor and towards the lift. “Anakin!’</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin steps onto the lift, Rey quiet beside him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anakin!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The doors close, and they descend to the atrium. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You did it,” Rey breathes. “You’re free.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” he says quietly. A tear slips down his cheek. “I’m free.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan comms Anakin so much that he ends up throwing the thing off the balcony of Padmé’s penthouse. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you going to do?” Rey asks him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shrugs, a slightly crazed smile on his face. “Whatever I want.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In the morning, Rey and Anakin leave Coruscant. Padmé is too involved with the Senate, and the presence of the two former Jedi is too distracting, so they leave her to her work while they take time to explore the galaxy. Not because they have to, not because it’s part of a mission, but because they have nothing to do and nowhere to be.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s the first time Rey has been able to go somewhere </span>
  <em>
    <span>just because.</span>
  </em>
  <span> As soon as she met BB-8, her life became an endless series of tasks, places she had to go and people she had to meet and things she had to do. She never got to take a trip just for fun, to visit a planet simply because she’d never been. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s been the same for Anakin. Although he’s visited more worlds than she has, they were all out of duty. Now, he can spend his time there as he likes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They visit Alderaan, a planet that had never existed in Rey’s lifetime; she looks out at the snowy mountains and gleaming forests and cries when she thinks about this place being destroyed. They visit Cloud City on Bespin, where they watch clouds of every imaginable color pass them by. They visit Bogano, Christophsis, Concord Dawn, Eriadu, Felucia, Hosnian Prime, Mon Cala, Mygeeto, Onderon, Ord Mantell, Rodia, Shili, Chandrila, and Zeffo, which are beautiful in their own way but hold little excitement after a few days.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They go to Canto Bight and play at being gamblers, using the Force to cheat a little bit; they never get caught, but the people of Cantonica are vapid and vain, and they soon decide to leave. On Endor, they meet the Ewoks, who are fierce but sweet; on Millius Prime, one of the thousand moons of Iego, they meet a race called the Angels, who Anakin heard stories about when he was young. They are beautiful but shy, and Rey and Anakin do not stay long.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>On Malastare, they enter a podrace, where they do not win but come very close. They up the ante by making the Kessel Run in fourteen parsecs just for fun, and Rey wonders if a smuggler named Han Solo will beat their record someday. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They very nearly stop on Kashyyk, where Rey is curious to see Chewie. She knows that he had a wife and son before the Empire, and some part of her thinks it would be nice to see him like that, at home and at peace, untouched by war.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yet as they get ready to make planetfall, she begs Anakin to turn around.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is it?” he asks, regarding her curiously. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” she admits. “I’m...he doesn’t know me, and if I had to explain it to him...I just don’t want to. I’m sorry. Let’s go somewhere else. Anywhere else.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright,” he says gently, and they make for Scarif, which Anakin endures even though he hates the sand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their next destination is Ahch-To, which Rey has no small amount of trepidation about visiting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The island looks just as she remembers, small and green and stormy. Anakin follows her up the endless steps, until they reach the place where she met Luke a lifetime ago. They sit on the grass and she tells him all about Luke...and Ben. She tells him about the handful of days (more like hours, really) she spent on the island, trying to find herself...and not realizing she’d known the truth all along. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Jedi way betrayed those who believed in it most,” Anakin says quietly. “Me. Luke. Ben. You.” He lies back in the grass. “But without darkness, there can be no light.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She hesitates. “Luke...said something about Ben once. ‘The brighter the light, the darker the shadow.’ I think it means...the harder someone is pushed towards the light, the harder their fall into darkness.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a Sith saying,” Anakin says quietly. “After the schism.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They sit in silence for a long moment, listening to the waves crash upon the rocks below. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are these things, anyway?” Anakin asks, referring to the soft little creatures clambering curiously over his lap.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Porgs. They’re cute, but they wreak real havoc on a ship engine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do I want to know?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She smiles, stroking a particularly adventurous porg under its ear; it warbles in delight. “Do you want to see the old temple?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Honestly...no. I’m tired of the Jedi, and the Sith. All of it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She stands up. “Then let’s go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They get in their ship and leave Ahch-To, never to look back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They’re on Cato Neimoidia when a message from Padmé comes through. It’s been months since they last saw her, but she’s kept in semi-regular contact with both of them. Rey suspects she and Anakin talk when she’s asleep, but she can hardly begrudge them that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Every day, more Separatist forces are defecting,” she tells them. “Dooku and what’s left of his army are hiding out in the Unknown Regions.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s good news,” Rey says encouragingly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, it is.” Padmé gives her a tired smile. “The Senate has asked Bail and me to stay on as First Senators for a while longer.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh. Is that...good?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes and no. It’s a lot of work, but I’m willing to do it.” Padmé clears her throat. “I told them I needed a break before I get back into it. I’m going to Naboo for a few weeks to rest...and I’d like it if you two would meet me there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course,” Anakin says at once. “Where will you go first?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“To Theed, to visit my family.” She smiles wryly. “They’ll be glad to see my boyfriend again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He smiles back. “Is that what I am?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“For now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey rolls her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t think you’re off the hook, either,” Padmé chastises the other woman. “My family has never met someone they didn’t try to set up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey snorts. “Yeah, well, good luck with that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> aggressive,” Padmé insists. “They won’t rest until they’ve found someone for you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve already found someone,” Rey says quietly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin shakes his head, and Padmé purses her lips. “Right. Okay. Well, I’ll see you in Theed in three days, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” Anakin agrees. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey makes up an excuse to wash the dishes so that Anakin and Padmé can have a moment alone. She hears their soft voices coming from the other room and it makes her stomach turn. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I’ve already found someone,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she’d said. </span>
  <em>
    <span>But I lost him, and I don’t think I’ll ever find him again.</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Of all the planets that Rey has visited, Naboo is perhaps her favorite.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The planet is green and lush, and the sea of lakes are visible long before they make planetfall. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The planet is just as beautiful on the ground as it is from space; they make port in Theed City, the planet’s capital and home to a thousand generations of great thinkers. Most of the buildings are made of red or beige sandstone, with round green roofs that must be hundreds of years old. Rey follows Anakin along wide, sweeping boulevards into narrower side streets, where the green domes give way to simpler stone houses. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It is from one of these houses that Padmé emerges, looking radiant as always in a deep purple shirt and matching, wide-legged pants. She hurries down the steps, throwing herself in Anakin’s arms. He spins her around, kissing her eagerly when they’ve stopped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey looks politely away, smiling when two little girls rush out of the house.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Eeeewwww!” the youngest declares, wrinkling an adorable little nose.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Exactly,” Rey agrees. “Who might you be?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m Pooja,” she declares, shaking copper ringlets. “And this is my sister Ryoo.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The older girl, with straight brown hair and a gap-toothed smile, waves at Rey.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m Rey,” she says, shaking their hands. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you a Jedi, too?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her smile wavers. “I used to be.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rey, it’s good to see you,” Padmé says, extricating herself from Anakin to hug the other woman. Her cheeks are red, but she looks too happy to care. “These are my nieces. Girls, you remember Anakin, don’t you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh-huh,” Pooja says, and Rey distinctly gets the feeling that despite being younger, Pooja is the bossier of the two. “Can we play with Artoo?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course you can.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The girls shriek in delight as they surround the droid, who beeps and whirs excitedly. Padmé leads Rey and Anakin inside, where two women who are her exact copy greet them with warm smiles. They exclaim over Anakin, remarking on how handsome he’s gotten (“Mom!” Padmé hisses in mortification), before they turn to Rey with expectant smiles.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You must be Rey!” Padmé’s mother declares, coming forward with open arms. “I’m Padmé’s mother, Ruwee.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s so nice to meet you,” Rey murmurs, her breath catching as it always does when someone hugs her so tightly. It comes so naturally to Ruwee, a mother’s hug, yet it’s always like the first time when Rey gets one.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I’m Padmé’s sister, Sola,” the other woman says, giving Rey a lighter but no less affectionate hug. “We heard you two have been gallivanting across the galaxy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Something like that,” Rey says with a smile. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sola lowers her voice. “Is it true you both left the Jedi Order?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sola!” Padmé shouts, looking horrorstruck. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay,” Anakin says. “Yes, we did.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sola looks between the two of them, almost impressed. “Wow. What made you leave?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Sola,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Padmé hisses.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sola,” Ruwee adds sternly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sola raises her hands. “Just curious!” She goes to the front door to check on the girls and Artoo.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jobal is at work, but he’ll be home soon,” Ruwee says kindly. “In the meantime, can I get you two anything to eat?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey’s stomach rumbles, and Ruwee laughs in delight. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Naberries are wonderful people. Over the handful of days Rey spends at their house, they treat her like one of the family, hugging her and teasing her and making her part of their lives. She loves life in the Naberrie house, and some part of her wonders if she could just stay here forever. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But no. With Anakin and Padmé openly together (at least around her family), Leia will likely be raised here, which means the Naberries will be Ben’s family, which means…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She doesn’t want to think about it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Too soon, Padmé announces that she’s taking Anakin and Rey to her estate in the Lake Country. Rey nearly protests, happy to be with the Naberries, but when Anakin tells her about the verdant country--half rolling green meadows, half sparkling blue water--she decides that she can part with her new friends for a while. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Lake Country is everything Anakin promised and more; Takodana had been lovely and green, of course, but Naboo’s Lake Country is miles and miles of fresh water. She marvels, not for the first time, at how different this planet is from Jakku.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Of all the places my parents could have left me, they chose Jakku?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She understands why, to a degree. Jakku is a desert junkyard, and no one, not even Palpatine, would think to look for her there. It’s hardly befitting, after all, the heiress to an empire.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>He was from Naboo, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she remembers. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Would he have thought to look for me here? The way Anakin had never thought to look for his own son on Tatooine? </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It doesn’t matter now, she supposes. What’s done is done...and what’s been undone has been undone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The estate where they stay, Varykino, is easily the biggest home that Rey’s ever seen. It’s a palace, Padmé explains, one that was available for people to stay in days past. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not anymore?” Rey asks, gaping at the villa.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not anymore,” Padmé says. “Because I bought it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey gapes at her. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>bought</span>
  </em>
  <span> it? The whole </span>
  <em>
    <span>thing?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Padmé smiles up at Anakin, squeezing his hand. “It’s special to me. Anakin and I fell in love here...and we want to raise our family here. We want to get married here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It takes a moment for her words to sink in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>We want to get married here.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You…” Rey gapes at the two of them. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Married?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” She goes to hug them and then pauses. “Wait, what about your family?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I love my family,” Padmé says, wincing a little. “But they’re...a lot. Anakin and I wanted a quiet ceremony, and they’d never understand that; they’d want to invite everyone they know. We wanted it to be just you and the droids.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey feels oddly touched. “You want </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Over your own family?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rey,” Padmé says, a bemused look on her face, “you </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> our family.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey gets so choked up she starts to cry. Anakin and Padmé wrap their arms around her, and it’s like a dam bursts. Rey cries into their shoulders, both so happy for their love and so sad that she won’t get to keep it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They marry on the terrace in the late afternoon with only Rey, C-3PO, R2-D2, and a Naboo holy man for witnesses. Padmé looks resplendent in white lace and pearls, and though Anakin’s clothes are simple, his smile is dazzling. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey can’t help but tear up as the newlyweds lean against each other and look out over the lake. In another world, in another life, this marriage tore the galaxy apart. Now, they’re just two people getting married, the people they always wanted to be and were never allowed to be in that other world.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Slowly, quietly, Rey urges the droids to leave the couple in peace, guiding them off the terrace and into the house. She wipes her eyes and comes to a decision.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mistress Rey!” Threepio calls as he follows her through the house. “Where are you going?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“To pack.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>While Anakin and Padmé enjoy their honeymoon, Rey gets in the sleek Nubian ship Padmé let her borrow and heads for the one place she thinks she might find an answer to her dilemma. She found answers here once before; why should time change that?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When she makes planetfall and skims over the forest, a lump forms in her throat. So much happened in that forest...and in the castle beyond it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maz’s place is just as Rey remembers; music playing lightly in a corner, smugglers and travelers from all walks of life lounging around the dining area. Rey scans the room but doesn’t see the pirate queen anywhere. She makes her way to the bar, using the Force to gently prod the bartender into looking over at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What can I get you?” he asks, wiping down the counter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m looking for Maz.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He snorts. “Everyone always is. Who should I say is asking?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She hesitates. “I don’t think she remembers my name.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She remembers everyone’s name.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just...tell her she helped me once, and I need her to help me again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The bartender lumbers off. Rey turns her back to the bar, assessing. No one pays her much mind. There’s a sabacc game taking up two tables near the band, and most of the attention seems to be on that; the handful of other occupants are talking and laughing over drinks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey looks down, her breath catching when she sees Maz Kanata. She looks exactly the same--Rey supposes that when you’ve been alive for a millennia, fifty or so years don’t make much of a difference. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maz.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s me,” the old woman says. “But who are you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m no one,” Rey tells her honestly. “You wouldn’t remember me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess not.” Maz adjusts her glasses. “Odd, because I would remember someone like you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How far are you willing to suspend your disbelief?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pretty far.” Maz jerks her head to a corner table. “Let’s sit and talk.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey tells her everything--and Maz, to her relief, doesn’t seems surprised by any of it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve heard of these Wayfinders before,” the old woman says, cleaning her glasses. “Very rare. Very dangerous.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What happens...if I don’t use it again?” Rey asks quietly. “If I stay here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maz leans back. “Nothing. If anyone else found the Wayfinder, it would probably take them back to your time. But you would stay here and grow old and die.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey’s hands clench the table. “That’s...what everyone wants me to do. Well, Anakin and Padmé. They want me to stay here. And that...that makes sense, doesn’t it? To stay here and, and live? Because if I go back to my time...I won’t live. I never will have. I’ll just...die.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maz gazes at her, patient and unblinking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey’s voice catches. “But if stay here...I’ll have to watch Luke and Leia be born...or not at all. People who were old when I knew them. And Ben…” Tears spill out of her eyes and she brushes them away quickly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maz lays a sympathetic hand over hers. “You’d have to watch the man you love grow up. You’d be an old woman by the time he became a man. If Ben Solo is even born at all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How can I live like that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Maz says simply.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey swallows. “When we met before...you told me the belonging I seek is not behind me, but ahead.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maz only looks at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey knows what to do.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>We're getting so near the end!! I hope it doesn't disappoint.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When Padmé returns to Coruscant, Rey and Anakin head for Tatooine. They get landing clearance in Mos Eisley, where they stop to refuel and get a bite to eat before they head for the Lars homestead, parking the sleek Nubian cruiser beside the sandy, weathered dome. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Shmi emerges to greet them, the pure joy on her face makes a knot form in Rey’s chest. She smiles at the other woman, inhaling her soft, calm scent when they embrace. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re back!” Shmi exclaims.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Told you I’d come back,” Anakin says, and Shmi’s eyes fill with happy tears. She bustles them inside where a plate of scones waits for them; Anakin tells his mother all about his adventures since leaving her, tactfully leaving out the part where he and Rey took down Palpatine. Shmi is content to listen, and when the others come in from a long day at harvest, there is much hugging and catching up before Shmi insists they all wash for dinner.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Over heaping plates of food, Anakin and Rey tell the Larses about all they’ve seen. Well, Anakin does. Rey finds herself unable to talk much, her hands trembling. Tonight is the night. Tonight, when the others are asleep, she’ll sneak outside and unearth the Wayfinder and go back to her time. Which is to say, she’ll cease to exist. It’s a terrifying thought, but she reasons that she’s as ready as she’ll ever be.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They talk late into the night, and when they can put off going to bed no longer, Shmi guides Rey to her old room. Everything is exactly as Rey left it...almost as if Shmi has been waiting for her to come back this whole time. It makes Rey’s throat tighten, and when Shmi hugs her goodnight, it’s all she can do to hold back her tears.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>This is the last time we’ll ever see each other,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thinks, stifling a sob. She forces a smile as the older woman leaves, and then she sinks onto the bed and lets herself cry.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She waits an hour or so, senses attuned to the activity in the rest of the house. When everyone is asleep, all except for Anakin, she creeps out of her room and pads silently outside. She doesn’t bring anything with her except the clothes on her back and the lightsaber on her belt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s dark outside, but there’s enough light coming from the dome to let her see. She kneels in the sand and uses the Force to pull the Wayfinder slowly from the sand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s concentrating so hard on doing this that she doesn’t realize she’s not alone...not until blue lightning crackles all around her, paralyzing her. She opens her mouth to scream, but an invisible hand wraps around her throat, crushing her windpipe. She struggles for breath, struggles to find the calm, smooth core inside her...but panic sets in, and all fades to black.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Rey wakes up, her head is throbbing, her eyelids heavy...but she has the strangest sensation of floating.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She opens her eyes and realizes she’s being held in some kind of forcefield that keeps her suspended and immobile. The room around her is bare and earthen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello?” she calls. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She feels the presence long before she sees the person behind it. His hair is white, his clothes black, and his eyes a piercing brown. He walks with unhurried movements, and though his Force signature radiates calm, she can detect an underlying note of vicious excitement.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>He’s only pretending to be calm,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she realizes. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He’s been waiting for this.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Young Rey,” he says, his voice rich and deep.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She frowns. “Who are you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He splays his hands with a small smile. “I am Darth Tyranus...but you may know me better as Count Dooku.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Dooku.</span>
  </em>
  <span> She takes him in fully. She can feel the Dark Side flowing through him, ready to unleash itself at a moment’s notice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why am I here?” she asks at last.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He tilts his head. “Darth Sidious was your grandfather.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” she says warily. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And yet you killed him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I had to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He considers her. “Are you familiar with the Rule of Two?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now it’s her turn to consider him. “Vaguely.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Darth Bane was a great Sith warrior who believed that there should only ever be two Siths at a time; a master to wield power, and an apprentice to covet it. When it is the apprentice’s time to take on the role of master, they will kill the master and inherit all their powers.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My grandfather said something similar,” she admits warily. “He wanted me to kill him so that I’d inherit his powers.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dooku nods. “Yes. All apprentices must kill their masters, when the time is right.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But I killed your master,” she points out. “So what does that mean for you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dooku’s smile is cold. “It means that </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> have inherited the powers of the Sith. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span> inherited Sidious’s abilities.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And now the only way to get them is to kill me,” she realizes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His cold smile widens. “Yes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Very brave of you,” she snaps. “Waiting to kill me until I’m completely immobilized.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, you won’t be immobilized. That wouldn’t be fair.” He pulls back his cloak, revealing her lightsaber. “And it would take all the fun out of it besides.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The second the forcefield evaporates, Rey crouches to land on her feet. Dooku tosses her her lightsaber, and she ignites it a split second before he attacks. Her blade meets his, and with a grunt, she forces him to stumble back a step before she whirls her blade.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come, young Rey,” he croons, preparing for her next blow. “Show me that Palpatine strength!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey bellows and sprints forward.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It becomes quickly obvious that Dooku doesn’t mean to strike her down just yet. He wants to test her powers and wear her down. He wants to earn his victory by defeating her soundly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey may have inherited her grandfather’s power, and the power of the Siths who came before him, but Dooku has studied the art well and wields it better than she does. His blade hums and crackles against hers over and over again--and Rey, already tired from being knocked out and held prisoner, falls back and back and back. It isn’t even her own life she’s trying to save--it’s the lives of Anakin and Padmé and every good person who will be corrupted and even die if Dooku succeeds. If he wins, he kills her, and inherits the powers of all the Sith that came before--including her grandfather.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I won’t let that happen,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she vows, using all of her strength to kick him in the chest and push him back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sweat is beading on her face and back, tendrils of her hair sticking to her forehead and neck as they duel. He looks calm and composed, his breathing even and measured compared to her pants and grunts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>He’s going to win,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she realizes with fear. </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Sith will win after all, and all this was for nothing. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Desperately, she thinks of Ben.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It is at that moment a loud clanging comes from an outer chamber.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey and Dooku freeze, his face bathed in the yellow glow of her lightsaber. Unwillingly, they tear their eyes away from each other, looking in the direction of the sound.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It clangs again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is that?” Rey can’t help asking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dooku doesn’t answer her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The clanging continues, faster and more steadily now, until something breaks, and a storm of familiar shouts fills the air.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Tuskens.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rey!” Anakin shouts, and Rey steps back, leaving Dooku to stumble as she runs to the outer chamber.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A handful of droids are firing at the Tuskens, but they’re at too close a range, and the Tuskens are used to being shot at. They use their bandaged hands to tear apart the droids and disable them, ripping out wires and hurling plates and data chips across the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin’s boots crunch over shattered droids as he runs to Rey, his lightsaber ignited. They wrap each other in a one-armed hug, still holding their sabers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How did you know I was here?” she asks in disbelief. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I felt your distress. I knew you didn’t leave by the Wayfinder. The Tuskens came to tell us they saw someone taking you away. Cliegg nearly shot at them, but Beru said they were your friends.” He smiles. “Glad she was right.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I helped them once before, when they were trying to kidnap your mother.” She narrows her eyes, turning. “On Dooku’s orders.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Sith shrugs unrepentantly. “They were my master’s orders, and I was too loyal to question him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That was your first mistake,” Rey says bitterly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Didn’t you ever wonder why?” Anakin asks the Sith. “Why Palpatine wanted my mother dead?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As I said, I was too loyal to question him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You should have,” Rey tells him. “You really should have. Killing Anakin’s mother would have helped him turn to the Dark Side...and once there, he’d need a master. Who do you think would be his master?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Such is the way of the Sith,” Dooku says with shocking indifference. “Masters replace their apprentices all the time. Take Darth Maul. He was Sidious’s apprentice before I was, and though he still lives, he was replaced. Sidious would have tried to replace me with Anakin in time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You knew?” Anakin asks, surprised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I said, </span>
  <em>
    <span>tried</span>
  </em>
  <span>. But I am still alive...and my master is not.” Dooku’s smile unsettles her. “And now I will kill both of you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good luck with that,” Rey mutters.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Tuskens watch in silent awe as Rey and Anakin twirl their blades, preparing for battle. Dooku is still and silent for a long moment; suddenly, he runs at them full-tilt, raising his saber to cut through them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin ducks out of the way; Rey flips into the air, landing behind Dooku. He whirls around to face her, but Anakin comes at him from the side and their blades lock, their faces distorted by the bright lights. They release, Anakin shouting; Dooku raises a hand to send him hurtling backwards and raises another to send a surge of lightning at Rey.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She didn’t realize he had this power, too, and it startles her; she drops her lightsaber and raises both hands to deflect the lightning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s enough; he clearly wasn’t prepared for this, and his Force energy is not nearly as strong as her grandfather’s. Rey gathers the lightning in her palms, and when he’s stopped, stumbling back, she sends it back at him. Dooku lands on the floor, writhing in agony; as soon as the electric blue crackle begins to fade, Anakin brings down his blade and cuts the other man in half.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Silence descends on the room for a long moment; then, the Tuskens raise their arms, letting out honking noises of victory. Exhausted, Rey sinks to her knees, wiping sweat from her forehead. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin kneels beside her. “Are you okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine,” she croaks. “Just been knocked out, dragged who knows where, and had to fight for my life against a Sith lord. You know. The usual.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Tuskens carry them back across the wastes to the Lars homestead. Rey signs her thanks when they climb off the banthas, and the Tuskens sign their farewells before they head back over the horizon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The horizon is pink with the promise of dawn, the stars fading as the black of night gives way to deep blue. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So much for disappearing in the night,” Rey jokes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s still time,” Anakin says quietly. “Before they wake up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Better not waste it, then.” She kneels in the sand, pulling up the Wayfinder with the Force. It rises slowly and steadily, finally sitting upon the upturned sand. It fills Rey with a sense of dread. Is this really what she wants? Is this really what’s best?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin kneels beside her, a quiet but reassuring presence. When she looks at him, he nods encouragingly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey takes a deep breath...and as the twin suns creep over the horizon, she touches the Wayfinder.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I know, I KNOW, I'm the worst about cliffhangers, I can write like three things and cliffhangers are one of them. (How else am I supposed to get you guys to read more?)</p>
<p>I think you'll like the end of this chapter...and that's all I'm gonna say about that ;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Wind rushes past her. She can hear voices, can feel people moving around her, and then suddenly the wind stops and all fades to silence. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey keeps her eyes screwed shut for a long time...and then realizes that she’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>alive.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She opens her eyes, looking around in surprise. She’s here. On Tatooine. At sunrise. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Did it work?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin isn’t beside her, and she’d felt the same sensation when she touched the Wayfinder as she had the first time. Had it taken her back to the right time? But it couldn’t have, because she doesn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>exist</span>
  </em>
  <span> in this time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Unless it took her back to another timeline completely. What if she just created an alternate universe, and this one will go on as it had before? What if Anakin still became Darth Vader and Palpatine still became ruler of an evil Galactic Empire in this universe and Ben died to bring her back to life? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She stands up, looking around wildly. There’s no way to tell from here. Tatooine in her time looks much the same as Tatooine in Anakin’s time. To know the truth, she’d have to go…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looks at the dome.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Inside.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What if different people live there now? What if she frightens them and they shoot her? What if--</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Movement at the entryway startles her. She draws back, hand on her lightsaber, and comes face to face with an old woman. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The woman cries out, surprised, and Rey tries not to let her fear show on her face, but the woman’s eyes are so </span>
  <em>
    <span>familiar</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and is that really--</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Beru?” she asks warily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Beru Whitesun stares back at her, mouth agape. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Rey?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” When Rey nods, Beru cries out, catching herself on the wall. Rey rushes forward to steady her, both women unable to believe the other. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re…” Rey swallows. “Older.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Older? I think you mean </span>
  <em>
    <span>old.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Beru’s halting smile fades. “And you...you haven’t aged a day.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey takes a deep breath. “It’s very...complicated.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Wayfinder?” Rey’s surprise must show, because Beru says, “Anakin told us, after you left.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey huffs out a laugh. “That was only a few minutes ago.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Beru shakes her head. “I can’t believe you’re really here. After all this time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey swallows. “How long has it been?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How long? Well...fifty...five years? No, fifty seven!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey sways on the spot, and now it’s Beru’s turn to steady her. “Let’s get you inside,” she says gently, guiding the other woman down the steps. It looks much as it did mere hours ago, with only the barest changes noticeable. “Owen!” Beru calls. “Owen, come here!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” calls a gruff voice, and the man who comes out from the direction of Owen’s room looks so much like Cliegg that for a moment Rey thinks it is him. But no, Cliegg would be pushing a hundred now, a longer lifespan than most on Tatooine, and this man isn’t nearly that old.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s Owen,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she realizes at the same moment he recognizes her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rey?” he asks in disbelief.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She smiles. “Hi.” But as reality sinks in, her smile fades. “I don’t understand what I’m doing here. I should be dead. Or, not dead, just...not alive.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Beru looks thoughtful. “Anakin said this might happen.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey stares at her. “He </span>
  <em>
    <span>said</span>
  </em>
  <span> that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t remember exactly what he said,” Beru admits. “But he said we might see you again. I just didn’t expect it to be...like this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Neither did I.” Rey’s stomach growls and Beru smiles.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll make you some breakfast. I’ll make all of us some breakfast.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Over fried dough and savory gravy, Owen and Beru tell Rey about the world since she’s left--or what they’ve seen of it, anyway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We don’t leave the farm much,” Beru admits. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Republic?” Rey asks, using her biscuit to sop up excess gravy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Still going strong. Stronger, even; they took initiatives to end slavery everywhere, not just in the Core.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That fills Rey with relief. “Good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Padmé was behind most of it.” Beru smiles. “She was First Senator when you left, wasn’t she?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Her and Bail Organa.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bail Organa was elected Supreme Chancellor,” Owen fills in. “Mon Mothma served as his Vice Chancellor for years. They kept trying to get Padmé to run, but she didn’t want to spend so much time away from the family.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey’s heart stops. “The family?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Beru beams. “She and Anakin had children, and those children have children of their own now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Trepidation lodges in Rey’s throat. Part of her desperately wants to ask about Ben...but the other part of her is too afraid to know the truth. “That’s...that’s good.” She turns her attention back to her plate, swallowing the lump in her throat. “And the Jedi?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Changed, from what Anakin said. There was a kind of...what did they call it, dear?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A schism,” Owen fills in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, that’s right, a schism.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey feels the lump in her throat again. “A schism? Like the one between the Jedi and the Sith?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, not that bad, I don’t think,” Beru says uncertainly. “It wasn’t violent or anything like that. Some of the Jedi were like Anakin...they simply felt too...constrained by the order. Many of them left and formed a new order. I don’t know much about it,” she admits. “Of course, I never knew much about the Jedi to begin with, and everything I did know was from Anakin, and he always had, well...a flair for the dramatic, shall we say.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is he alright?” Rey asks quietly. Fifty-seven years is nothing to sneeze at. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anakin? Oh, fine. He does a little bit of this and that, but I think he stays at home more often than not these days. We’re none of us as young as we used to be.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That relieves her. No turning to the Dark Side, no loss of limb...at least, nothing serious. “That’s good. And...Shmi and your dad?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Passed away,” Owen says gently. “Dad went first, about...twenty five years ago now. Shmi went to live with Anakin after that. Died in her sleep.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A pang of sadness makes her push her plate away. Logically, she’d known, but it still hurts to hear that two people who she loved and loved her in return, people who she had left only hours ago, have been dead for some years. At least they died of old age, surrounded by their families. In the time before, Cliegg had died from complications with his amputation, and Shmi had died after being brutalized by the Tuskens. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s all so much. She’s so happy, and at the same time, so sad. It exhausts her, and talking and listening are suddenly gargantuan efforts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry,” she says numbly, “but I’ve been awake for hours and it’s just now catching up with me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course,” Beru says at once, standing up (not as quickly as she used to, something Rey does not fail to notice) and ushering her away from the table. “Your old room is a spare room now, but it’s pretty much like it was last time you were here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The room does indeed look like it had fifty-seven years ago. Rey pulls off her belt and boots, dimly aware of Beru talking but unable to process it. She doesn’t know how or when she gets to the bed, but suddenly she’s fast asleep.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She wakes hours later, the lights dim. The chronometer shows her that it’s late afternoon, meaning Rey has slept the day away. She shifts in her bed, groaning as her bones and muscles stretch and release. Deciding she could benefit from a hot shower, she strips off her clothes and takes a hot but short shower in the tiny refresher; water is a precious commodity on Tatooine, and while moisture farmers like the Larses have access to more than most, she doesn’t want to waste any of it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her own clothes are in need of a wash; luckily, Beru has left a pile of neatly folded clothes on the dresser. They’re old clothes of Beru’s, Rey is sure; the material is faded and coarse, but will protect her from the sand. She pulls on the shapeless sweater, skirt, and robe, cinching it with a frayed tie. Instinctively, she knots her hair into the three buns she’s worn for almost twenty years, and then goes out to find Owen and Beru.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Owen is tending to the farm, but Beru is baking something in the kitchen. She smiles at Rey, elbow-deep in flour and dough. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you making?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shmi’s biscuits you liked so much.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey smiles. “You remembered.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course I remembered.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can I help?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can watch,” Beru says, and Rey laughs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> bad of a cook.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not that good of one, either.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Despite the barb, Rey can’t help but grin. It feels good to talk to Beru like this. Even though it’s been fifty-seven years in Beru’s time, even though she’s an old woman now, she’s still Rey’s friend. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We sent a message to Anakin,” Beru continues, kneading the dough.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey perks up. “When?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As soon as I put you to bed.” Beru looks up at her. “He said he’s coming for you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>We’ll come back for you, sweetheart.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey swallows. “He is?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He said he’s coming...</span>
  <em>
    <span>for</span>
  </em>
  <span> me? Not just to...visit?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He was very explicit about bringing you home.” Beru smiles softly. “I think it’s a good idea. He and Padmé have this lovely home on the lake...I forget the name of it…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Varykino,” Rey says at once.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Beru nods. “Yes, that’s it. Varykino.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey swallows again. “He wants me to live there? With him and Padmé?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rey,” Beru says with some exasperation, “I don’t think you realize how much Anakin </span>
  <em>
    <span>loves</span>
  </em>
  <span> you. Him and Padmé and Shmi. And Owen and I, of course. We all love you. You’re part of our family.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey’s throat thickens, her vision blurring with unshed tears. “Oh.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fifty-seven years doesn’t change that,” Beru continues, either oblivious to Rey’s emotional state or politely pretending not to notice it. “And frankly, I think you’d be happier on the lake than you would be on the farm here. Not that Owen and I aren’t happy to have you,” she adds quickly. “Because we are, of course. But this isn’t the life someone like you deserves. You deserve to live somewhere green and watery and surrounded by family.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wordlessly, Rey wraps her arms around Beru’s waist from behind. The other woman doesn’t say anything, but that’s alright; she doesn’t need to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The next few days are spent much as they were when Rey was here before; she helps Owen and Beru around the house and the farm and sometimes runs into Tosche Station or Mos Eisley to run errands for them. All the while, she’s filled with anxiety. Anakin is coming for her. He’s coming </span>
  <em>
    <span>for</span>
  </em>
  <span> her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She feels much as she had in those early days on Jakku, waiting for parents who she knew would never return. The hope, the expectation, the belief that they truly loved her and would come back for her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But her parents, those shadowy figures in her mind she’s never quite able to picture, were about to die and they knew it. They’d lied to her. She’d known that her whole life. Anakin wouldn’t lie. Anakin </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> coming for her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s careful not to ask Owen and Beru about Anakin’s family, and they’re careful not to say anything. She wonders how much they know about her, how much Anakin had seen fit to share. Do they know about Luke and Leia? Do they know about Ben? Do such people exist in this timeline, and if they do, do they have any idea who she is?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It makes her nervous. Anakin will tell her everything. He’ll understand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If he ever comes for her, that is.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Stop it,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she tells herself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He’s coming. He is.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then what? She’ll go back to Naboo with an old man who was once younger than her? To do what, exactly? Watch him and his wife wither and die, surrounded by their children who are older than her and who she hardly knows?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Beru is right; it’s better than staying here on Tatooine. Owen and Beru are family to Rey, but the moisture farm is not her home. She spent fourteen years on a desert planet, and she doesn’t want to spend another day longer than necessary on another one. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s outside one evening after dinner, watching the binary sunset, when a ship appears over the horizon. Heading for Tosche Station, perhaps. Except, no, it’s coming closer. Coming right towards the farm. It’s a sleek, silver ship.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nubian.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And the presence in that ship…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey stares as the ship touches down by the house, her palms suddenly slick and a lump in her throat. When the ramp lowers, a man walks down the ramp.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Anakin.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looks different and the same. His hair is grey and white now, longer than she’d imagined a man his age would keep it. There are lines on his face, but the blue eyes are the same. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rey,” he says, and his voice is thinner than it used to be, but it’s still him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anakin!” She runs forward, meeting him once he reaches the ground. They embrace warmly, their Force signatures thrumming.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I had a feeling you’d come back,” he says as he pulls back, holding her at arm’s length to study her. “You look the same.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, well, I only just touched the Wayfinder,” she reminds him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shakes his head. “That was fifty seven years ago for me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know.” She hesitates. “How did you know? Beru said you’d told her it could happen…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a long story,” he says. “And one I think I should tell you later.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She starts to protest, but there’s movement behind him, and when she looks up, she feels her heart leap into her throat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For coming down the ramp is Ben.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Rey feels her heart </span>
  <em>
    <span>stop.</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looks the same, but different, too. His hair and eyes are the same, but there’s a happiness to him that wasn’t there before. He wears a white thermal shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a black vest and pants. He’s got on a belt and two holsters, too, and Rey can’t help thinking that he dresses just like his father.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He descends the ramp slowly, his eyes locked on hers, and Rey doesn’t know how to describe it, but it’s like he just...</span>
  <em>
    <span>knows.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He doesn’t look at her like a stranger, he looks at her like he did on Exegol, when she’d woken up from the dead and relief had washed over him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dimly, she can hear Anakin saying something about going to see Owen and Beru. She hardly registers him leaving, heading inside the house, before she’s left alone with Ben.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s you,” he says softly, and she feels tears fill her eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You...know who I am?” she asks, hesitant.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He reaches up, his thumb wiping the tears from her cheek. “Rey, it’s me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She can’t help it; she cries even harder. “How? How are you...you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” he admits. “I’m...Ben Skywalker Solo. I was raised on Naboo with my parents and grandparents and aunt and uncles. I studied the ways of the Force but I never became a Jedi, or a Supreme Leader.” He takes a deep breath. “But I’m also Kylo Ren, Supreme Leader of the First Order, a dark sider who killed his own father and died giving my life force to you. I can’t explain it. It was like when I died on Exegol, I became part of...me. Two different versions of myself living in the same body.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She rests her hand over his, feeling his warmth and the strength of his Force signature. “That was what I was trying to stop,” she whispers. “You living with those memories.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re just memories now, a piece of a life I don’t live anymore...and every day, they fade a little more.” He presses his forehead to hers. “Except for you. Everything about you is so...vivid. I wake up sometimes and I can still...feel you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She surges forward to kiss him, and he kisses back eagerly. Time seems to stop as they stand there, her on her toes, his massive hands cradling her head. She’s crying again when they pull apart, but he wipes the tears from her eyes and she smiles. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s something else I have to tell you,” he says, and her smile fades.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He takes a deep breath. “Palpatine was lying. You’re not his granddaughter.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her heart thumps. “What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He lied. You could feel it, couldn’t you? I know you could. He planted those memories in your head.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She can feel herself growing dizzy. “I...why…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Because you were too strong with the Force, and he knew it. He couldn’t let himself believe that you were a nobody from nowhere. So he created this fiction where you were his long-lost granddaughter.” The corner of his lip lifts in a rueful smile. “I guess the one thing you two had in common was making yourselves believe stories over the truth.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She swallows. “So my parents were really...no one.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In so many ways, it’s a relief. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Palpatine isn’t my grandfather.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Not that she needed absolution for the crime of being born, but it helps, in a way. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>My parents sold me for drinking money, and that’s alright. I’m no one. I’m not Rey Palpatine. Just Rey.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How did you find out?” she asks at last.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I always knew the truth. I told you you were Palpatine’s granddaughter because that’s what he wanted me to say. I was always going to tell you the truth when we got off Exegol...but I didn’t get the chance.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She stands on her toes to kiss him again. “I love you,” she declares fervently.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He smiles. “I know.” He kisses her, his hand splaying across her back. “I’ve always loved you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s the happiest she can ever remember feeling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Over caf and spiced cake, Anakin, Ben, and the Larses catch up. Rey is too overwhelmed to say anything, but that’s alright; she knows she and Anakin will catch up later. So while the others talk, she sits on the couch beside Ben, their hands twined.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the hour grows late, Anakin looks at the chronometer and declares, “Well, it’s late; we’d better be going.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re leaving tonight?” Rey asks in surprise.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, yes,” Beru says. “Don’t you know?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hate sand,” Anakin explains. “It’s--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Coarse, and rough, and irritating,” Ben, Owen, and Beru chorus all at once.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin rolls his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that okay?” Ben asks softly. “If we leave tonight?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looks around. She’ll miss Owen and Beru...but she can always see them again. The sooner they leave, the sooner she can see Padmé again, and the rest of their family.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s okay,” she confirms, squeezing his hand. “Let’s go home.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There are only two cabins on Anakin’s ship. Anakin goes to bed almost immediately, blaming it on his old bones...but Rey has a feeling it’s not his bones that are sending him to bed so soon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She spends entirely too long in the refresher, worrying at her hair and her clothes until she can worry no more; taking a deep breath, she darts out of the refresher and climbs into bed beside Ben. He looks at her with wide eyes, his fingers twining with hers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m scared,” she whispers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Me too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She believes him, but even so, she shivers when he brushes his lips against her brow. “Have you ever…?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She expels a shaky sigh of relief. “Really? Not anyone? Ever?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He touches her cheek. “What was the point in being with someone who wasn’t you?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His touch is electric, like ice and fire and life and a thousand thousand deaths all at once. Rey arches and clenches and comes undone until she’s spent and sweaty in his arms. He traces the lines of her face after, and though he tries not to show it, she can feel him trembling. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I feel like I’ve waited a lifetime for you,” he murmurs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She kisses the tip of his finger. “I feel it too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They make up for lost time on the ship, unable to stop touching each other. There isn’t much to do</span>
  <em>
    <span> besides</span>
  </em>
  <span> touch each other, though she tries to behave around Anakin. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He doesn’t seem to mind; if anything, she catches his eye every now and then, regarding them with a secretive smile. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How did you know I’d come back?” she asks him over a game of dejarik, which he is winning by a lot. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The short answer? Intuition.” He shrugs. “The longer answer is I tested your DNA, and Palpatine’s. I’d had...a feeling, ever since you told me you were his granddaughter. It didn’t feel right. I knew you believed it, but I wondered if it was the truth. So I took a sample from you and one from Palpatine--that was hard, I hope you’re impressed--and submitted them for testing.” He looks up at her. “You’re no more related to Palpatine than you are to a mynock.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have a cousin who’s a mynock,” she quips, but her thoughts are roiling. Why hadn’t she thought to check? She’d known DNA testing was a possibility.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>But why did I believe his lie at all is the real question?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Because Ben is the one who said it first. He had to. Palpatine made him.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shakes her head. It doesn’t matter now. Palpatine is not her grandfather, she isn’t a Skywalker. She’s just…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Naboo is as lush and green as ever, the Lake Country as beautiful as she remembers, yet a nervous anticipation fills her as Varykino comes into view. What will Padmé be like? What about Luke and Leia? Clearly they’re still alive, or Ben would not be...but what if they’re different? What if there are strangers in their place?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She has to grip Ben’s hand as they ascend the stone steps. Someone comes gliding out from the castle, robes flowing and hands outstretched.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Leia.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey sucks in a breath, watching as Leia reaches up to kiss her father’s cheek--such a strange thing to see, considering all that had transpired in another life. She embraces Ben, and Rey watches in amusement as he bends down for his mother to fully wrap her arms around him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then she turns to Rey, and the younger woman feels her heart stop. Leia wraps her in a hug, as tight and warm as the hugs Rey remembers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rey,” Leia murmurs. “It’s so good to meet you finally.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you,” Rey whispers, hugging back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Han is doing something of questionable morality, probably,” Leia says wryly. “He couldn’t get back in time, but he’ll be here soon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before Rey can say anything else, Leia steps back, and someone else is standing behind her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It takes Rey a long moment to recognize Luke. He looks so different now; where before he’d been all unkempt hair and old, wrinkled robes, now his hair and beard are cropped short and clean, his clothes sleek and black. If it wasn’t for his eyes, she might never know him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Luke,” she says in quiet wonderment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He smiles, wider and kinder than she’s ever seen him smile. “You know me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A different version of you,” she says, remembering the grizzled man she’d met on Ahch-To.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luke gestures to another man, who’s coming out from the house now. There are others coming out too now, men and women Rey has never seen before. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is my husband,” he says, hand resting on the other man’s shoulder. “Bodhi Rook.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s nice to meet you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you,” Bodhi Rook says with a kind smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin summons the others forward, indicating a man and woman around Luke and Leia’s age. His hair is chestnut streaked with grey, and hers is a sandy blonde plait running down her back. They could be Luke and Leia reversed. “This is my son Rian, and that’s his twin sister, Rey.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey looks up at him, her mouth agape. “Rey?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rey,” he confirms with a smile. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A knot forms in her chest. Anakin and Padmé named their daughter after her? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My parents always told me I was named after one of their best friends,” Rey Skywalker says with a beam. “It’s an honor to finally meet you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you,” Rey blurts. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rey Skywalker rests her hands on the shoulders of a man and woman about Rey’s age, practically identical. “These are my twins, Jacen and Jaina.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Twins run in our family,” Ben explains. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So I see.” She smiles at Jacen and Jaina. “It’s nice to meet you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you,” Jaina says. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then an older woman is coming forward, grey curls cascading down her shoulders, wearing a gown so elegant it can only be one woman.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Padmé,” Rey realizes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rey!” She reaches up to wrap her arms around the other woman. She’s old now, but still breathtakingly beautiful. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was what Padmé had always wanted, wasn’t it? To live here on the lake, surrounded by her family. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s what I always wanted, too.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Padmé steps back, beaming at her. “I’m so glad you’re here again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Me too,” Rey says honestly. “I didn’t think I would be.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We hope you’ll stay,” Padmé says earnestly, leaning into Anakin’s arm around her shoulders. “We’ve always hoped you would.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I always wanted to,” Rey says honestly, glancing up at Ben. “But I wasn’t ready until now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>The belonging you seek is not behind you,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Maz had told her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It is ahead.</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Here we are...the end.</p>
<p>Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading this. So many of you have told me how this helped with the post-TROS pain and I'm so glad I could make it a little less painful. </p>
<p>Be well &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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